Court finds drug accused guilty

The Magistrates Court in Nausori has found a man who goes by the name ‘Roc’ guilty of a drug charge. Rakesh Charan and his wife Arti Geeta were charged with one count of possession of illicit drugs namely methamphetamine weighing 57.5 grams at Navuso, Nausori on may 9, 2016 .

However, Magistrate Shageeth Somaratne found Charan guilty of the offence, but acquitted Narayan. They had pleaded not guilty and Charan had waived his right to a lawyer on November 21, 2018, while Narayan was represented by the Legal Aid Commission. Narayan was acquitted because Magistrate Somaratne found that it was more probable that Narayan was not acting in a joint enterprise to possess the drugs on that day, based on the testimony of the prosecution.

“Considering the testimonies of prosecution witnesses, I find there is a reasonable doubt about the involvement of Narayan in this offence. “Accordingly, I acquit Narayan from this charge,” Magistrate Somaratne said.

During the hearing, the court heard that Police Constable Shaneel Kumar was working in the uniform branch of the Nausori Police Station. On May 9, 2016, he received a report from the Eastern Headquarters about some trouble in Navuso. Constable Kumar and Constable Ravneel went to the scene and saw Narayan at the gate. She approached them and said she found something in the washroom of the master bedroom. Inside the washroom, Narayan took out the drugs from a gap on the side ceiling and told the constables that her husband Charan was using them.

Outside the house, the officers met Charan and questioned him about the drugs. Charan admitted that the drugs belonged to him and was arrested on the spot. He was escorted to the station and the drugs handed over to DC Apisai. DC Apisai was the officer in-charge in this case and conducted Charan’s caution interview.

He also took the drugs to the forensics lab in Nasova for analysis, where the test results confirmed that the drugs was methamphetamine and weighed 57.5grams. Charan and Narayan were jointly charged with one count of possession of illicit drugs.

“Considering the totality of the evidence I find the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt Charan committed this offence,” Magistrate Somaratne said. “Accordingly I find Charan guilty for this charge and convict him.” Charan has 28 days to appeal.