Ludhiana: Court acquits two in 7-year-old drug case

The court of additional sessions judge Shiv Mohan Singh acquitted Ranjit Singh, alias Raja Kandola, along with his accomplice Gurnam Singh in connection with a case of drug recovery in 2017.
An FIR was lodged by the Special Task Force (STF) at Ludhiana’s Moti Nagar police station on July 19, 2017. The FIR mentioned that two other accused, Palwinderjeet Singh Sidhu, alias Pinda, and Ravinder Singh, alias Ravi, were caught smuggling heroin and 5-kg drug was seized from them. The police further alleged that Kandola, who was in Kapurthala jail at the time, had been in contact with Pakistan-based drug smugglers and had conspired with Pinda and Ravi to smuggle heroin from Pakistan for distribution in India. The FIR was lodged under Sections 22, 27A, and 29 of the NDPS Act.
Advocate SC Gupta, Kandola’s lawyer, said the police failed to substantiate the charges against his client and Gurnam Singh. “The court has acquitted both Kandola and Gurnam Singh due to lack of evidence. The prosecution couldn’t prove that Kandola was communicating with Pakistan-based smugglers via phone from jail,” Gupta stated.
He further added that Pinda and Ravi, who were granted bail earlier, were declared proclaimed offenders after failing to appear in court. “The police claimed to have recovered 2.5 kg of heroin each from Pinda and Ravi, but no recovery was made from Kandola,” Gupta said.
Public prosecutor Advocate Manjit Singh confirmed the court’s decision to acquit Kandola and Gurnam Singh.