Thursday, June 18, 2015


Jun 08 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
STAIN 0N KHAKI - Forensic twist in drug bust case: Test results find samples not meow meow 
Mumbai 


Satara And City Cops Send Part Of 112kg Seizure To Central FSL
With the results of the samples tested by the Pune and Mumbai forensic science laboratories (FSL) turning out to be negative for mephedrone (MD) or meow meow, questions are being raised into the probes against dismissed head constable Dharma Kalokhe of the Marine Drive police station and drug queen Shashikala Patankar alias Baby Patankar.On March 9, the Satara police raided Kalokhe's house there and seized 100kg of what they suspected was MD. The very next day , the Mumbai police searched Kalokhe's cupboard at the Marine Drive police and seized 12kg of suspected MD, foreign currency and liquor bottles.
Sources said the Pune and Kalina FSLs sent separate reports to the Satara police and the city crime branch respectively stating that the samples were not MD. Dissatisfied with the reports, the Satara police and crime branch have approached the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad with fresh samples of the two seizures.
“On Friday , the Kalina FSL sent a report stating that the sample was not MD; it appears to be ajinomoto. We suspect there could have been an error while sending the sample or someone might have played mischief. Hence, we have collected fresh samples and sent them to the CFSL,“ said a se nior police officer. The report is expected by June 15.
Satara SP Vinod Deshmu kh said, “It is a sensitive case. I can't reveal the outcome of the forensic report, but yes, fresh samples have been sent to the CSFL for more accuracy .“
If the CFSL report con firms the results of the two re ports, the police could be in for a major embarrassment as sev en cops were arrested in the al leged cop-drug peddler nexus.
“The physical components of MD and ajinomoto are almost similar and often drug peddlers adulterate the drug with ajinomoto to increase its quantity. It is possible that the 112kg seized from Kalokhe may have been adulterated with ajinomoto and hence, the FSL reports were doubtful. The CSFL will be able to give an authentic report,“ said an official.
Sahayak, a socio-legal and educational forum, has also raised doubts over the authenticity of the two FSL reports.
Interestingly , the city police does not have any apparatus to check if a drug seized at a crime scene is MD or not. Eyebrows were also raised as both the seizures in Kalokhe's case were made just a fortnight after the government brought MD under the ambit of the NDPS Act. “From the two FSL reports and other investigations, it appears that Patankar had played a ploy to frame Kalokhe with whom she had an illicit relationship, ego issues and monetary disputes. If the CFSL report also concludes that the sample is not MD, then all the arrested cops, including Kalokhe and senior inspector Suhash Gokhale, are innocent,“ said a senior police officer. An assistant police inspector and two constables attached to the Mira Road police station have been charged with kidnapping and extorting money from a Bhayander-based businessman Bhavarsingh Rao in February this year.He complained that he had been kept in the police lockup and was tortured.
The Navghar police in Bhayander (east) on Saturday registered a kidnapping for ransom case (Section 364 (A) of the IPC) against API Praful Wagh and the two constables, following orders from the Thane sessions court. 



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