CISF officer tries to frame IAS’ hubby, held

Keeps drugs in his car parked at CGO complex, his lawyer friend also arrested

A 45-year-old commandant with the CISF and his lawyer friend from Aligarh have been arrested for allegedly planting drugs in the car belonging to an IAS officer’s husband parked at CGO Complex, the police said on Thursday.

The CISF commandant, Ranjan Pratap Singh, was posted as a director of the bureau of security in the ministry of external affairs (MEA). He, along with his friend Neeraj Chauhan, was arrested under the NDPS Act and criminal conspiracy, it said.

According to the police, on Wednesday at about 5.00 pm, a senior officer with the CISF received a call about a suspicious car parked inside the CGO Complex.

The car owner was traced and the car was searched in his presence where 550 g of charas in 52 small pouches was recovered from the vehicle, a senior police official said.

The car owner was held and a case was registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the officer said.

Investigations revealed that the caller was a street vendor from Mehrauli

The accused disclosed that he had met the IAS officer during a training programme and developed fondness for her. He wanted to falsely implicate her husband in a drug peddling case

area. He told the police that a man approached him and took his phone to make an emergency call.

The accused were identified through a CCTV footage, in which a car was seen and it was recognised by the vendor. The registration number was not clear but an MEA sticker was visible in the footage.

Further investigations revealed that the car belonged to Ranjan Pratap Singh. He first tried to mislead the police but when he was countered with other technical evidences, he confessed of planting the drugs in the car with the help of his advocate friend, said the police.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he had met the IAS officer during a training programme and developed fondness for her. He wanted to falsely implicate her husband in a drug peddling case, added the officer.

He brought charas from his hometown in Aligarh and involved his friend Neeraj, whom he had promised smooth treatment at AIIMS through his contacts.

Neeraj had made the call to the CISF officer about the drugs in the car, the officer added.

To plant the drugs inside the car and to gain access, Singh had followed the car for two days. On Wednesday, when the man visited a hospital in Pragati Vihar in South Delhi, the accused got the car opened with the help of a key-maker.