In a case that highlights serious lapses in evidence handling, a special court in Jharkhand has acquitted a man accused in a narcotics case after the police claimed that the 200 kilograms of seized marijuana had been eaten by rats stored inside the police station.
From Highway Seizure to Vanishing Evidence
The bizarre sequence of events began on 17 January 2022. Acting on a tip-off, the Ormanjhi Police in Ranchi intercepted a white Bolero vehicle on National Highway-20. The tip suggested drugs were being transported from Ranchi to Ramgarh. During the interception, two individuals fled, but the police managed to apprehend one, Indrajeet Rai.
A search revealed 200 kg of ganja concealed in specially built compartments of the vehicle. An FIR was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and Rai was arrested. The seized contraband was stored in the police station's evidence room, known as the malkhana.
Court Exposes Flaws, Questions "Rat" Theory
The case unraveled during the trial. In an order dated 19 December 2023, Additional Judicial Commissioner-III-cum-Special Judge Anand Prakash acquitted Indrajeet Rai. The court stated the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and pointed to multiple investigative failures.
A major point of contention was the police's explanation for the missing evidence. The investigating officer claimed the 200 kg of seized ganja was destroyed by rodents. A station diary entry to this effect was produced in court in February 2024. The court observed, "This casts a suspicion on the very seizure of the case and its handling by the police."
The judgment detailed several other critical lapses:
- Contradictory Statements: The seven prosecution witnesses, all police officials, gave conflicting accounts on key details like the time and place of interception and the direction in which the other accused fled.
- No Independent Witnesses: Despite the seizure occurring on a busy national highway near residential areas, no public witness was examined.
- No Vehicle Link: The prosecution could not prove Rai's connection to the seized Bolero. The investigating officer admitted the vehicle had no engine or chassis number, a fact not properly recorded.
- Poor Evidence Preservation: The court noted serious failures in the sampling, sealing, and preservation of the alleged narcotics.
A Recurring Problem of Evidence "Eaten by Rats"
This is not an isolated incident where rodents have been blamed for compromising evidence in India. In 2018, police in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, claimed rats drank over 1,000 litres of seized liquor. In 2024, the Madhya Pradesh High Court expressed alarm after police said samples in a case were destroyed by rats due to rain, damaging 28 other samples.
The Jharkhand court's acquittal order underscores a systemic issue regarding the poor upkeep of police malkhanas and the casual handling of crucial evidence, which can severely undermine the judicial process and allow the accused to go free.
