BARGARH: In a rare and important conviction, the Additional Sessions Court at Padampur on Wednesday sentenced a 35-year-old man to life imprisonment for dealing in adulterated cough syrup.
Additional Sessions Judge Surya Narayan Dwivedy convicted Pustam Hansa of Rajapada under section 274 of the IPC and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life besides imposing a fine of Rs 10,000. In default of payment of the fine, Hansa will undergo an additional one year of rigorous imprisonment.
The case dates back to January 2020. According to the prosecution, a police team detained Hansa while he was reportedly preparing adulterated cough syrup and selling it to the public at Rajapada in Padampur on January 14, 2020. Police seized two plastic jars containing 50 litres each of an adulterated liquid-like substance, two plastic glasses and a strip of tranquilliser tablets from his possession.
Hansa could not produce any licence or authority for possessing or selling the substances and allegedly admitted to mixing tablets with cough syrup. The seized materials were subsequently sent for chemical examination.
The prosecution examined five witnesses, including the seizure officer, official witnesses and two independent witnesses, besides producing the seizure list, FIR and chemical examination report as exhibits. The court held that the prosecution had proved the charge under section 274 beyond reasonable doubt.
However, the court acquitted Hansa of the charge under section 275 of the IPC, observing that there was no evidence to establish that the adulterated preparation had actually been sold to anyone.
The case was represented by additional public prosecutor, Padampur HK Sunani.