HC upholds 12-yr jail term for two Pak drug peddlers

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today upheld 12-year-jail term slapped on two Pakistani nationals in a drugs and arms smuggling case. The duo had illegally entered the Indian territory before reaching Amritsar city and were instrumental in bringing heroin and fake Indian currency along with arms and ammunition.

The matter was placed before the Division Bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Avneesh Jhingan after Rajeef Mohammad and Mohammad Aakab Khan, along with two other convicts, moved the High Court against the May 2017 judgment of Amritsar Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Judge, Special Court.

The prosecution’s case was that appellants Sukhdev Singh along with co-accused Surmukh Singh, Rajeef Mohammad and Mohammad Aakab Khan were involved in smuggling of narcotics and weapons. Rajeef Mohammad and Mohammad Aakab Khan were carrying weapons and one of the accused aimed a gun at the police, which was taken away by a police official.

The Bench was told that Rajeef Mohammad and Mohammad Aakab disclosed that they crossed the Indo-Pak border by swimming across a river on the intervening night of May 20-21, 2015.

The duo said they had concealed a mobile phone with Pakistani SIM in a polythene bag. Sukhdev Singh said he along with others used to smuggle consignments of heroin from Pakistan to be supplied in different cities in India.

Justice Sharma added that it had come on record that Rajeef Mohammad pointed gun at the police and the accused had hatched criminal conspiracy, which was duly proved by the prosecution.

“A sum of Rs 65, 00, 000 was recovered from the boot of a car. The only purpose of money was indulging in the activity of financing heroin…. It is duly proved on record that two of the appellants had illegally entered into the Indian territory. They were harboured by Sukhdev Singh…. There is no merit in the appeals and the same are dismissed”.