Sr citizen claims harassment by police, seeks CBI probe

MUMBAI: A senior citizen from Sion Koliwada has approached the Bombay high court (HC) seeking constitution of a special team to investigate “false” allegations against her after she and her daughter were arrested by Pune’s Bhosari police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The 68-year-old woman was charged for allegedly being in possession of 320gm of brown sugar (poor quality heroin).

The woman has submitted that while police allow notorious drug suppliers to operate, people like her are harassed.

A division bench of justice SS Shinde and justice Manish Pitale, while hearing a petition filed by Kala Rani Perisami Devendra, was informed by her advocate Anand Jondhale that the petitioner was a senior citizen residing and operating a small tobacco shop at Sion Koliwada. The petition was filed after Devendra was falsely implicated by Bhosari police station, Pune, on March 23, 2019, for possession of narcotics substances.

The petition claimed that Devendra’s daughter, who was also taken into custody, was let off the next day after she paid a large sum to the police team to not be implicated in the case.

In light of these allegations, the petitioner sought creation of a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team to unearth facts of the case.

After the court was informed by the state that the petition had not been served to them, HC directed Jondhale to serve the same with proof of service.