NDPS court adjourns cocaine chargesheet case to Sept 7

Mumbai, Aug 31 (UNI) Special Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) court today adjourned till September 7 filing of the three separate chargesheets against the nine accused including Provogue Apparels Managing Director Salil Chaturvedi, booked on the charge of possessing cocaine and conspiring to supply drugs.

Additional Public Prosecutor Raja Thakre sought adjournment, arguing he is still awaiting the government's reply on his proposal to appeal to the High Court against the NDPS court's direction to file three different chargesheets in this case.

On this, NDPS Judge B S Waselkar, who on August three had directed the prosecution to file three separate chargesheets, adjourned the matter till September seven.

Chaturvedi, in an application filed last month, had appealed to the court seeking separation of his chargesheet from the common chargesheet filed by the prosecution on September five last year against him and eight others under various sections of the NDPS Act.

Chaturvedi was arrested on August two last year on the charge of possessing three grams of cocaine powder at his residence and conspiring to supply drugs. He had secured bail on September six on the ground that the police did not seem to have any evidence other than the cocaine seized from his house.

Police had seized three vials of cocaine, smuggled in from Chennai, at the domestic airport here and arrested Allywn Sequeira, the importer of the consignment.

During investigation, Sequiera had revealed that the original consignee of the vials was Vishal Meghnani, a former employee of Provogue who was nabbed on July 26.

On the basis of Meghnani's statement, Chaturvedi was arrested.

Two police officials who had allegedly tried to replace the cocaine power with boric powder are also booked in this case.

Barring the three foreign nationals, the six others are out on bail.

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