Patankar files plea over seized property

Drug dealer Shashikala ‘Baby’ Patankar, who is on bail in an NDPS case in which several police officials were also arrested, has filed a petition in the Bombay high court seeking directions for government and senior police officers to return cash, jewellery, cars, property and bank documents seized during her arrest.

Earlier, in March, the police arrested police constable Dharamraj Kalokhe of the Marine Drive police for allegedly keeping 110 kg of contraband at his residence in Khandala. The Marine Drive police also recovered 12 kg of contraband from his locker in the police station. Later, the police arrested Patankar for allegedly supplying the drugs to the constable and also arrested other police officials for allegedly helping her avoid arrest. However, later all the arrested people including Patankar and her son got bail in this matter.

Now, Patankar and her son Satish have claimed in the petition that during the investigation the police conducted several raids at the residence of the petitioners and seized about 20 mobile phones belonging to them and their family members. Apart from this, at the time of arrest the police seized gold ornaments she was wearing and also `35,000 in cash. The petition says the police also seized three cars of theirs, which has no connection with the case registered with them.

The petitioners, via their lawyer N.N. Gavankar, have requested the court to direct the police to produce a list of articles belonging to the petitioners, including the 7/12 extract of property and other documents, in the court as they are not aware if the seized items listed by them have been incorporated in the seizure panchnama or not.

It is also mentioned in the petition that the prosecution’s case is that the petitioners supplied Mephedrone (MD) to various places in 2014, while the said drug was not included in the schedule of psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act. They pointed out that the MD was included by Central government notification on February 5, 2015.

“Therefore the indictment of the petitioners in both the crimes is in violation of Article 20 (1) of the Constitution of India,” said the petition.

“Respondents (police) be (sic) put to strict proof as to how did they come to the conclusion, even prima facie, that the petitioners had committed an offence under the NDPS Act in the absence of a drug testing kit,” said the petition.

The petitioners have also alleged that the police conducted raids on their properties even when the FSL report was negative for the substance seized by them.