Siliguri, 19th March: In a significant breakthrough, two cannabis traffickers have been sentenced to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment following an extensive eight-year legal battle. This marked a significant achievement for the Bagdogra police station of the Siliguri Metropolitan Police in combating drug trafficking. The accused have been identified as truck driver, Balkar Singh, and co-driver, Saidul Alam.
According to reports, the Siliguri NDPS Court sentenced two drug traffickers to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of one and a half lakh rupees each. It is noteworthy that on July 3, 2017, the police at Bagdogra police station seized 67 packets of cannabis from a truck near Ranidanga Railway Gate. Subsequently, both the accused were arrested initiating the legal process that commenced in the Siliguri Sessions Court in 2017.
During the trial, officer Niranjan Pal presented the charge sheet, and testimony from 16 witnesses was recorded. Following a thorough review of the evidence, Judge Jitendra Gupta delivered a guilty verdict on Tuesday, sentencing both individuals to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposing a fine of one and a half lakh rupees each. In addition, non-payment of the fine will result in an additional one-year imprisonment term.