Thane: Kin of music composer, 1 other let off in 2015 drug case

THANE: The Thane sessions court on Friday acquitted the granddaughter of a veteran music composer and one other person who were arrested for alleged mephedrone possession in 2015. Sessions judge H M Patwardhan, after hearing both sides, said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges in court and acquitted Henna Shah (27) and Shahid Choudhary (35).The duo had managed to secure bail from Bombay high court in 2017.
It was the prosecution's case that on July 28, 2015, the anti-narcotics cell of Thane police, based on a tipoff, laid a trap near a Thane mall and caught the duo with more than 400gm of mephedrone worth over Rs 5 lakh. Vartak Nagar police registered a case under the NDPS Act.
Defence counsel Shekhar Bhandary pointed out that nine prosecution witnesses testified in court and most of them did not support its arguments and also there were no independent witnesses, which is mandatory under the NDPS Act.
Bhandary brought to the court's notice that police had detained the duo from Byculla, but showed on record that they were arrested from near a Thane mall, and also presented supporting evidence. The judge then concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges and let off Shah and Choudhary.