Mumbai: A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court acquitted a South African national Promise Khalishwayo (29), who was accused of smuggling narcotics into the country.On Feb 18, 2021, Khalishwayo was caught by the Narcotics Control Bureau at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport with 2.9 kg heroin in her trolley bag.
The special court observed that the investigating officer did not follow sealing procedure and that there is variance in the seized substance and the sample sent for analysis. In such circumstances, the examination of panch witnesses was essential to prove the guilt of the accused, but the prosecution failed to bring forth the panch witnesses for examination, said court. The court also added that the investigating officer did not follow the prescribed procedure while conducting the search of the accused, which helped in Khalishwayo’s acquittal. NDPS special judge U C Deshmukh said that even for the sake of discussion, if it is presumed that Khalishwayo was apprehended with such contraband, failure of the investigating officer and his team members to follow procedure allows her to go scot free.
