he IPS Officer Claimed He Got The Contraband From The NCB When It Was Deposited By The Border Security Force
Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: According to Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials, IPS officer Saji Mohan, who was arrested for drug trafficking on January 24, has been changing his statement with increasing regularity. From maintaining that the heroin was smuggled into India from Pakistan last year, he modified his statement claiming that the contraband was part of unclaimed drugs deposited by the Border Security Force (BSF) with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). He also said that he that he mixed limestone with pure heroin and sold the contraband at high rates. “He has been changing his statements,’’ said ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi.
Another ATS officer added: “Saji was part of a cross border drug peddling group that smuggled Pakistani-marked heroin into India. At least five more people, including some police personnel, are likely to be arrested in this case.’’
Meanwhile, the ATS on Monday, seized 25kg of heroin from a flat in Nalanda building in Naigaon near Vasai in Thane (rural). The flat, belonging to one Prakash Patil, was rented out to Gaurav Oberoi, son of Vicky Oberoi, who is one of the accused in this case. “Saji had brought this consignment in July last year, and stashed it in Gaurav’s flat,’’ said Raghuvanshi.
An official said: “The consignment, in milk packets, bears markings like B52, 555 and Peerzada-labelled heroin, which indicates that it’s from Pakistan. One kg of such pure white heroin costs anything from Rs 4-7 lakh in the Indian market.’’
Saji, an IPS officer of the 1995 batch, was arrested on January 24 from Classique Club, in Oshiwara. “He came from Delhi where he had undergone a training in Prevention of Money Laundering Act on Sunday, and was staying at the club. When we conducted the first raid, we found 12kg of heroin with him,’’ Raghuvanshi said.
Saji had intended to collect his share of the money from Vicky who had offloaded an earlier consignment comprising 1.8kg of heroin. But Oberoi (56) was arrested on January 17 along with a Haryana police constable, Rajesh Kumar (30). ATS officials claimed that Saji was not aware that Vicky was under arrest, and laid out a trap to nab him. “We asked Vicky to speak to Saji from custody and directed him to travel to Mumbai to collect the money’’ said an official. Police are following all leads, including those that lead to Jammu, where Saji was posted in the initial years of his career. There is a theory that Saji’s team in Chandigarh had seized 52kg heroin 2007, but showed a recovery of 8kg. “Some lower rung policemen could be arrested,’’ a senior officer said.
He has been booked under section 8 (1) (c) and 21 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. If convicted, he faces 10 years to life imprisonment.
INNOCENT OR GUILTY?
The IPS officer has given three different versions to the police till date
January 24: “Heroin was part of a haul in Chandigarh in 2008’’
January 26: “Heroin came from Pakistan via Jammu’’
January 27: “Heroin was deposited to the Narcotics Control Bureau by the Border Security Force as unclaimed contraband’’
WHAT THE LAW SAYS
Enacted in 1985, the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act is the primary weapon in the hands of prosecuting agencies in India
The stringent piece of legislation carries a minimum sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment for those caught with a commercial quantity of a banned drug
The sentence can go up to 20 years depending on the discretion of the court
Bail provisions are so strict that it is virtually impossible to get bail under NDPS
The law carries a mandatory death penalty for anyone who is convicted the second time for a narcotics related offence
The Times of India, Janaury 28, 209
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