A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Ahmedabad on Monday acquitted six Pakistani fishermen and an Indian fisherman accused of smuggling 218 kg of heroin off the Gujarat coast in 2019, ruling that there were gaps in the prosecution’s account of the seizure of the contraband.
Event Context
Special NIA judge Hemang Rajendra Rawal acquitted the six Pakistanis — Safdar Ali, Alahi Daad Angiyara, Azim Khan, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Gafur and Mohammad Malah — charged under the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
An Indian fisherman Ramjhan Gani Palani was also acquitted of charges under the NDPS Act and ordered to be released if he was not required in any other case.
Match Outlook
The six Pakistanis were, however, convicted under the Foreigners Act and Passport (Entry Into India) Rules for entering India without valid passports, visas or other documents. They were sentenced to eight years’ rigorous imprisonment under Section 14A(b) of the Foreigners Act and five years each under Section 13(2) of the Act and the Passport Rules. The sentences will run concurrently and the seven years they have spent in custody will be set off against the sentence, the 151-page verdict said.
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The case dates to May 21, 2019, when the Indian Coast Guard intercepted Pakistani fishing boat Al-Madina near the International Maritime Boundary Line off Jakhau in Gujarat. According to the prosecution, the six Pakistani crew members brought 330 packets of narcotics in 11 polypropylene bags for delivery to an Indian recipient in Indian waters.
The prosecution alleged that the crew threw all 11 bags in the sea when the Coast Guard approached the vessel. It said seven bags containing 194 packets were recovered. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recorded the weight of the seized substance as 217.856 kg. Preliminary testing by the Forensic Science Laboratory in Bhuj identified the substance as brown heroin, prohibited under the NDPS Act.
The Union home ministry transferred the investigation to the NIA in May 2020, citing the gravity of the alleged offence and its international links.
The court, however, raised doubts over the recovery of the narcotics. It noted that Coast Guard officers neither photographed nor videographed the alleged recovery from the sea and did not explain the method or equipment used to retrieve the seven bags.
“The recovery of narcotic drugs itself is not found free from doubt… the Officers of ICG Ship Arinjay have neither videographed nor photographed the recovery of narcotic drugs from sea and have also not stated as to by which mode/instrument/equipment the said seven PP bags were recovered from sea,” as per the court order.
It added that contradictions in the officers’ testimony raised “reasonable doubt” whether any such narcotic drugs were thrown overboard by accused No.1 to 6 into sea and whether such overthrown drugs were ever recovered by Coast Guard officials.
The court also noted that when the panchnama was prepared, the seven bags were found in the cabin of Coast Guard boat C-408, which escorted Al-Madina to Jakhau. The panch witnesses had no personal knowledge of the alleged recovery from the sea and were told about it by Coast Guard officials.
It also found non-compliance with provisions of the NDPS Act governing the recording of information and the inventory and sampling of seized narcotics. The court held that the prosecution failed to establish that the six Pakistanis threw the bags into the sea or that the seven bags subsequently produced were the same ones allegedly thrown from Al-Madina.
The prosecution alleged that Palani’s fishing boat, Fezane Kirmani, was the intended recipient of the drugs. The Coast Guard located the boat about seven to eight nautical miles from where Al-Madina was intercepted after making radio calls using the names “Mohammed” and “Ramzan”.
The court also noted that Palani’s alleged mobile phone links with the accused were not proved, the Pakistani accused did not know him and there was no evidence that he responded to a code word.
The court noted that Fezane Kirmani had sailed from Okha for fishing and caught about 90 kg of fish.
The court held that the chain of circumstances against Palani was incomplete and the prosecution had failed to establish that he was the person to whom the narcotics were to be delivered.
The court ordered that the Al-Madina be confiscated and the Fezane Kirmani be returned to Palani after verification if it has not already been returned.
