Drugs case: Provogue owner moves sessions court

On Friday,the CID had filed a chargesheet against Inspector Subhash Kenjle,who investigated the case against Chaturvedi,and Madhukar Gatade,who was senior inspector in charge of the Airport police station in 2005. The officers were charged with evidence tampering.

The CID also dropped charges against constable Ashok Bhosale,whom Chaturvedi had named in a private complaint. Bhosale had allegedly recovered 3 gm cocaine from the bathroom of Chaturvedi’s Lokhandwala flat in Andheri. The CID also dropped NDPS Act charges against the policemen.

Soon after the chargesheet was filed,the Andheri metropolitan magistrate court remanded Kenjle and Gatade in judicial custody till August 17.

According to the chargesheet,the panchnama that was supposed to have been conducted at Chaturvedi’s residence was done at the police station. In its investigations,the CID had allegedly found that Gatade was not present at the flat when the raid took place though he claimed otherwise.

However,in his intervention application,Chaturvedi claimed that the agency has remained completely silent on where the drugs came from. “The investigation has not been carried out properly on the source of contraband,”said Chaturvedi’s lawyer Rizwan Merchant.

Giving the facts of the case in his application,Chaturvedi further stressed on the 14 days he spent in police custody and several days he was in judicial custody before he was released on bail.

The police are still clueless on how the “three vials of cocaine” landed in the guest bathroom of his Lokhandwala bungalow,Chaturvedi pointed out.

Chaturvedi,Provogue’s deputy managing director,was arrested under the NDPS Act in 2005. He was later acquitted of all charges. His application will be heard on Tuesday,Merchant added.