Mangalore: Ganja Trade - Innocents being Harassed by Police?

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Nov 22: Some gunny bag dealers, who say they are being harassed with fake cases of ganja trade by the police, have sought justice. One of them, Abdul Latif (49) from J M Road, Bunder, has filed a complaint with city police commissioner, Seemant Kumar Singh, and director general of police, against city assistant police commissioner, Ravindra Gadadi.

Latif claims that Gadadi came to his shop at around 12.15 pm on October 17, and demanded production of his shop’s licence. “After verifying the licence, he started searching in the stacks of gunny bags in the shop, and took out a bag containing 22 ganja sachets. When another person named Hassan and I said we did not know anything about it, we were taken to Bunder police station,” he said.

Latif said both of them were asked to sit outside the police station and switch off their cell phones. After he was asked to switch the phone on again, a person named Munir called him, demanding Rs 50,000 to exonerate him from the hassles of police case, he added. “I questioned him as to why I should pay up, as I had not done anything wrong,” Latif said.

Thereafter, Munir called to say that Latif could secure his release by paying Rs 25,000 to the ACP immediately. “As I was frightened of police case, I agreed. Thereupon, the ACP said that we were free to go. Later, Ummarful Farooq, who was in the shop, paid Rs 15,000 to Munir,” he said, adding that he had also issued a cheque for Rs 10,000 on Karnataka Bank to Munir on October 18. He said he is certain that the ACP had placed the ganja in his shop to fix him in the case.

Latif said he is an honourable citizen of the country, and that this incident had made people to view all gunny bag traders with suspicion. “As the case has also given rise to loss of face for my family members, I am demanding for a thorough inquiry and punishing of the guilty” he clarified.

Gadadi, however said that Latif and Hassan had been brought to the police station after finding ganja packets in their shop, but that they had been released after finding them innocent. He said this had been brought to the notice of the commissioner too.