The Pune court has acquitted all the six accused arrested in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 for allegedly carrying Marijuana worth almost Rs six lakh. The incident occurred on December 07 2020 in The Yavat area of Pune District. The Yavat police had arrested six accused allegedly involved in carrying Marijuana in their car.
The District and Additional Sessions Judge V R Kachare of the Pune Sessions Court during the final hearing on September 30 acquitted the accused Prakash Rajendra Jadhav, Tanaji Digambar Jadhav, Suresh alias Arjun Digambar Pawar, Dropada Suresh Alias Arjun Pawar, Kailas Sahebrao Pawar and Ankush Dashrat Pawar on basis of lack of evidence. The court in its judgement stated that the acquittal was due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
Advocate Siddharth V Gawande represented Prakash Rajendra Jadhav, Tanaji Digambar Jadhav, Suresh alias Arjun Digambar Pawar, Dropada Suresh alias Arjun Pawar, while Advocate Gopal Bhosale represented Kailas Sahebrao Pawar and Advocate Raju Mate represented Ankush Dashrat Pawar in the court.
The lawyers while arguing in the court stated that the police had filed false and bogus cases against the accused and no raid was ever conducted. The lawyers also stated that the evidence and samples were tampered and Marijuana was never seized from the accused. The defence and the public prosecutor argued at length and in court after hearing both the accused acquitted all the six accused due to lack of evidence and ordered the police to release the accused.
On December 7, 2020, the Yavat police allegedly seized two packets of Marijuana weighing 18 and 23 kilograms worth totalling Rs 6,15,000. The Yavat police had booked four accused and an FIR was registered under sections 8 (C) and section 20 (b) (ii) (C)of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and section 3(1) and 181 if the Motor Vehicle Act. Later the case was transferred to the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Pune for further investigations.
The first hearing of the case was conducted on May 24, 2021 and the accused were acquitted almost after four years on September 30, 2024.