HYDERABAD: It is not new that items seized by police officers often go missing. In a similar case, drugs seized in cases of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act have gone missing.
According to data available with Hyderabad police, items seized in 33 cases under NDPS Act at various police stations are untraceable.
Since the formation of Telangana, the city police have booked 231 cases under NDPS Act in which as many as 452 persons were arrested till June 2017. Various drugs were also seized in huge quantities in these cases.Anti-Narcotics Cell was formed to curb the drug menace where several foreign students including some Nigerian nationals were held. Between 2010 and 2012, the city police had arrested 19 gangs who were into drugs and arrested 43 persons including 21 foreign nationals.
After inducing an exclusive unit in the city police, some cases were transferred to ANC for a better probe, however, it did not yield any output. In the cases handed over to ANC, the SHOs concerned did not produce the seized items neither in court nor gave it to ANC. Not even a single charge sheet was filed till late 2016 until a senior officer had put pressure on the investigators. After the senior officer took a serious note of the improper probe, different kinds of drugs seized in 30 cases were produced in the court along with the charge sheets.
“Around 63 cases have been transferred to ANC since 2012. So far, not even single case has seen a conviction. Charge sheets were filed recently with a great effort in 50 per cent of cases, the drugs seized in those cases were produced in the court. In rest of the cases, the seized items are still untraceable,” said a senior police officer in Hyderabad.Sources said some accused arrested in the cases went absconding after obtaining bail while some were not even arrested.