KALPETTA: A police officer has been booked for stealing seven sacks of banned tobacco products that had been seized by the police and stored at the Sultan Bathery police station under a court order.
Senior Civil Police Officer (SCPO) Sabith, attached to the Sultan Bathery station, has been identified as the officer involved in the theft. Police said Sabith, a native of Vythiri, is currently absconding, and efforts are underway to trace him.
The tobacco products were seized from Dottappakulam in Sultan Bathery on June 7 and were kept in the station storeroom after being produced before the court. The contraband was later found missing during an inspection of the storeroom on September 10.
The theft came to light when the station writer and assistant writer entered the storeroom for cleaning. They found that the lock had not been broken, raising suspicion that someone with access to the keys had opened the room. A preliminary inquiry found that the key was kept at the assistant writer’s desk.
The station authorities subsequently examined CCTV footage from the premises. The footage reportedly showed the sacks being taken out of the station and loaded into a car. Based on the footage and other evidence, the investigation team led by the Sultan Bathery DySP traced the alleged theft to Sabith.
Police suspect that the contraband was removed from the storeroom sometime between June 26 and September 10. The incident has also raised questions over the security and handling of seized materials kept inside the police station.
A case has been registered against Sabith, and the police have intensified efforts to locate him. The DySP is also conducting a detailed inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the removal of the seized tobacco products from the station.
