A court in Kishanganj sentenced two men to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment each in a ganja-smuggling case.[1] The court fined each of them Rs 150,000, with three more months in prison if the fine is not paid.[1] The convicts are Avdhesh Kumar Mahto of Amanour in Saran district and Rohit Kumar Mahto of the Pradhan Nagar police-station area in Darjeeling district.[1] A second report names the same two men from Saran and Darjeeling as the convicted men.[2] Additional Sessions Judge-III Abhay Srivastava delivered the verdict on Wednesday in Special NDPS Case No. 37/2023.[1] Public prosecutor Pranav Kumar conducted the prosecution case.[1]
The case arises from Kochadhaman police-station case No. 144/23 over an incident on 14 June 2023.[1] On that day Kochadhaman police were checking vehicles at the Chardharia checkpoint on NH-327E on the Bahadurganj-Araria road.[1] Officers stopped a Maruti Suzuki car and searched it.[1] The search of the car’s dickey recovered 23 packets of ganja wrapped in cellotape.[1] Police weighed the consignment at a total of 24 kg 400 g of ganja.[1] The second report likewise says the dickey held 23 cellotape-wrapped packets weighing 24 kg 400 g in total.[2]
The two accused told police they had loaded the ganja in Siliguri to deliver it in Muzaffarpur.[1] They were to receive Rs 10,000 per trip for the work.[1] The prosecution examined five witnesses, and the court convicted both accused under the NDPS Act on the evidence and witness testimony.[1]