Odisha Court Sentences 3 To 20-Yr RI For Brown Sugar Smuggling

Bhubaneswar: In a first in Odisha, a Bhubaneswar court sentenced three persons to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for 20 years while convicting them under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act, 1985 for their involvement in illegal brown sugar trading.

The accused have been identified as Debasish Behera alias Rinku, Prabir Kumar Singh alias Situ, and Sk Kausar Alli. Rinku is from Balasore’s Nilagiri while Situ and Alli are from Gopalgaon in Balasore town.

The Court of Second Additional District Judge-cum -Special Judge, Bhubaneswar pronounced the RI and also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on them. In case of default in payment, they will have to undergo RI for one more year.

As per case record, the three accused were intercepted by the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police on June 19, 2020 near Esplanade Mall in Rasulgarh of Odisha’s capital when they were transporting brown sugar in a four-wheeler.

The STF seized brown sugar weighing four kg and 458 gram and other incriminating materials procured by them from West Bengal.

After an investigation, a chargesheet was filed against the three under Section 21(c)/29 of  NDPS Act.

During the trial, the prosecution examined 13 witnesses and exhibited 79 documents.

The seized contraband brown sugar has already been destroyed as per the order of the court, police informed.