The special narcotics drugs and psychotropic substance (NDPS) act court on Wednesday granted bail to Suhas Gokhale, the officer attached to the anti-narcotics cell, on the grounds that there was not enough ground with the police to keep him behind bars. The bail was granted on cash surety of Rs1 lakh.
The Mumbai crime branch, on May 29, had arrested five policemen — senior inspector Suhas Gokhale (anti-narcotics cell), suspended inspector Gautam Gaikwad, sub-inspector Sudhakar Sarang, assistant sub-inspector Jyotiram Mane and head constable Yeshwant Parate — for allegedly aiding drug mafioso Shashikala alias Baby Patankar in escaping after she was declared wanted by the Marine Drive police in a case.
The court, presided over by judge UB Hejib, while granting bail to the officer, claimed that the seized substance that was examined by the forensic science laboratory (FSL) did not test positive for narcotics.
Speaking to dna, advocate Dilip Mishra, who appeared on behalf of the accused, claimed: "Our arguments were purely based on the reports of the forensic science laboratory. It read that the seized substance which was examined did not test positive for narcotic substance. Rather, it claimed that it was sodium glutamate, which in a layman's language means ajinomoto."
The court, while passing its order, held that the FSL reports for the seized substance has not matched with the drug that the police claimed it to be. "The court held that no doubt the department has filed another application for sending the sample for testing to the Hyderabad CFSL, but that application is still pending and we cannot keep a man in custody till the time it gets tested for the second time. Also, putting more light on the mobile calls exchanged between Baby and Gokhale, the court has considered the Bombay high court's judgment which said that if the two accused speak to each other on phone and if that conversation is not transcribed, then it cannot be used as an evidence," said advocate Mishra.
