Special Judge, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Subir Kumar has ordered seizure of mobile phones of under training Circle Officer (CO) Anusha Badola, sub inspector Tajwar Singh Negi, constable Sachin Kumar and lady constable Sangeeta in the case of a lady being arrested with 240 grammes of hashish in Dehradun on September 18. The court has ordered the police station concerned to get these mobile phones forensically checked, ascertain the location of the said police personnel during the arrest and check at what time they communicated with whom.

The court has ordered this after the counsel for the accused Neelam alleged that the police have framed her in the case.

As per the police, after receiving number of complaints and information about the ongoing transaction of narcotic substances at around 8:40 pm on September 18, police seized 240 grammes of hashish from Neelam. On the basis of the seizure, she was then arrested and presented in the court.

During the remand hearing, counsel for the accused showed medical reports of the accused, her sister and her brother-in-law dated September 9. They also showed a complaint letter with a receiving stamp from Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) office. On the basis of these documents, they argued that the accused and her family members had filed multiple complaints in the past regarding two of her neighbours involved in narcotics trade.

The court found the police’s statements and facts unsatisfactory and has ordered Inspector General (Garhwal) and Dehradun SSP to investigate the case thoroughly.

SSP Arun Mohan Joshi said, “Compliance of the court’s orders will be done. However, there are many aspects of law. We will do a complete study of it and accordingly, further steps will be taken.”

According to sources, district police is planning to appeal to the Uttarakhand High court against this decision.

Sources further stated that local police feel that the order of mobile seizure might affect the morale of police.