19 November,2009 07:41 AM IST | | Anshuman G Dutta
Narcotics Control Bureau turns a deaf ear to the demand of the six booked under various sections of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act
They have been languishing in jail for almost three monthsu00a0 now, following their arrest for allegedly possessing 7 kg heroine by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Claiming they are being framed in the case, the six arrested Nigerians are even ready to take "truth serum" tests. Interestingly, unlike other cases, the prosecutor Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)u00a0 is not too keen for their lie detection test and narco analysis.
The six, who were arrested on April 13 after a raid on their rented house at Tilak Nagar, made an appeal for conducting narco analysis on them. But much to their disappointment NCB turned a deaf ear to them. The appeal was made on November 7.
Their counsel, Advocate Manish Kumar Khanna, said they are being framed in the case. "The NCB is dilly-dallying the matter, as they know they are innocent," he said. "As the real culprits ran away from the spot during the raid, NCB officials implicated them in the case. The only common thing between the real culprits and those who have been falsely accused in the case, is their Nigerian nationality," Khanna said. The next hearing in the case is on December 8.
The raid took place on April 13 on information received by NCB officials about some foreign nationals staying at a flat at Sant Garh, Tilak Nagar.u00a0 "Three foreign girls and few men were found packing heroine in suitcases inside the house. But they managed to escape," said Khanna.
As they could not be nabbed, the NCB officials started a random checking of the neighbourhood and the six were arrested from their residence. According to the counsel, their landlady and her family members also accompanied the officials during raid.u00a0
"In her affidavit she has also mentioned that the Nigerians caught from her house are not the ones who were packing seven-kg heroine in the other house. In fact, the entire locality knows about it. The NCB officials booked innocent people under various sections of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act," said Khanna.u00a0
Khanna has filed an appeal in Delhi High Court and sought its permission to conduct narco-analysis, brain mapping and lie-detection test on the accused.
"Though the result of the tests cannot be treated as evidence, these are recognised as a tool of investigation.
u00a0
The test will expose the NCB," Khanna said.
Diplomacy
Advocate Manish Khanna has written a letter to Nigerian High Commission in New Delhi for legal help. "It's my legal duty to inform the Commission so that it can provide legal aid to its citizen," he said.
