Early Times Report
JAMMU, Oct 9: The Court of Additional Sessions Judge (Special Judge NDPS), Udhampur, denied bail to four accused in a high-profile narcotics case, citing strong evidence of their involvement in a well-knit charas trafficking conspiracy.
The accused - Shankar, his wife Reena, son Shambu (all from Hoshiarpur, Punjab), and Dhani Ram of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh - were arrested on April 26, 2025, after police intercepted their motorcycle at Naka Motorshed on NH-44, Chenani. From their possession, the police recovered 525 grams of charas from Shankar and 400 grams from Shambu, while Reena was accompanying them. Investigations later established that Dhani Ram was the supplier, with a ?40,000 financial transaction linking him to Shankar and tower location details confirming their meeting a day prior to the recovery.
The bail applications were moved by Advocate T. A. Khan on behalf of Shankar, Shambu and Reena, and by Advocate Balwan Singh for Dhani Ram. The accused pleaded innocence, with Dhani Ram citing ill health due to a skull tumor, while the others maintained they were poor laborers.
On the other hand, APP Hemanshu Prakash, appearing for the Union Territory of J&K, opposed the bail, producing call detail records (CDRs), financial transactions and other evidence pointing to a wider conspiracy.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamlesh Pandit, while delivering the order, stressed that the accused were involved in commercial quantity of contraband, attracting the strict bar on bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. The court further observed that narcotics trade poses a "deadly impact on society, particularly the youth", and granting bail at this stage would defeat the ends of justice.
Accordingly, the bail applications were dismissed outright, and the case will proceed with the main challan pending before the court. (JNF) |
