Agra: Two months after police in Mathura claimed to have seized 358 gm of controlled drug Alprazolam and ₹1.95 lakh cash, Allahabad high court has issued a summons to the district SSP, directing him to appear in person and submit a detailed affidavit following allegations of a fabricated recovery.
Terming the matter serious, a bench of Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla passed the order on Aug 17 while hearing the anticipatory bail applications of two accused, Pinku and Neeraj Sharma. Police subsequently registered an FIR under the NDPS Act against three men—Javed Khan (55), Pinku, and Neeraj Sharma—claiming to have intercepted Khan in a car with the narcotics and cash. Granting interim anticipatory bail to the applicants until the next hearing on Sept 1, the court ruled that they be released on personal bonds in the event of an arrest.
the court noted that the video evidence strongly undermined the police’s narrative While the govt counsel opposed the bail plea arguing that a “huge recovery” was made and custodial interrogation was required. When contacted, SSP Shlok Kumar stated, “I am yet to go through the court orders. We will examine the directions and observations made by the court and take suitable action as per law. The case stems from a June operation by a team from Jait police station, led by SHO Sonu Kumar and SI Dushyant Kaushik, alongside five other personnel. During the hearing, defense counsel presented CCTV footage showing police personnel retrieving a black bag directly from the house of the accused. That same bag was later cited in official records as having been recovered from the vehicle during the road interception. “Prima facie, in the opinion of the court, a false recovery has been shown against the applicants. This is a very serious matter,” the bench observed, ordering SSP Shlok Kumar to file a specific, para-wise response addressing the claims and CCTV evidence.