2013 Airport drug seizure case : Then DG and now Dy CM examined
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 16 2021:
Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar was examined as a prosecution witness in the airport drug seizure case of 2013 today.
The Deputy CM gave his statement before the fast track Special Court of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (ND&PS).
It may be mentioned that the Deputy CM, a retired IPS officer was the then Director General of Police.
After his statements were recorded today in the CBI Special Trial case of 2018, the Court discharged him from the case.
Significantly, accused persons in the case including ex-MLA Okram Henry, Sapam Angus alias Nanao, Rajneesh Kumar, Ramveer Tyagi and Md Rajauddin filed dispense before the Court and were represented by their respective counsels for the hearing.
During the hearing today, the Special Public Prosecutor submitted that four other prosecution witnesses summoned were unable to attend the Court as one of them is in judicial custody in connection with another CBI case while the three others could not come due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Court after hearing the submission of the APP fixed April 22 for hearing of prosecution witnesses.
It may be recalled that on January 11, 2013, a team of Special Intelligence Unit had seized seven unattended carton boxes containing contraband drugs from Imphal airport which were brought from Kolkata by an Air Deccan flight.
The State Government after a Cabinet meeting had handed over the case for investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Special Crime Branch CBI after the investigation of the case had submitted the chargesheet against the accused persons in April 2016 and the trial is on against them from 2018 onward after framing charges under relevant Sections of the ND&PS Act and IPC.