Mangaluru: Principal district and Sessions Judge Basavaraj held a man guilty in a case pertaining to the transportation and peddling of ganja.The convict is TP Farooq, 50, a resident of Bunder in the city. Public prosecutor Judith OM Crasta said that the hearing on the sentence will be held on March 16.Explaining the case, the Public Prosecutor said that Bantwal police arrested Farooq and another accused, Sagar Singh, 22, from Nepal while selling ganja in Melkar on Nov 10, 2020. Bantwal Town police inspector Cheluvaraju B received information that ganja was being sold in a car at Melkar. Following this, police team conducted a raid and arrested the duo.During the search, police found 1.3kg of ganja in the boot of the car. Further, during a body search, DSP Valentine D’Souza found four sachets containing 60g of ganja in Farooq’s trouser pocket and 45g in three sachets from Sagar Singh. A case in this regard was registered at Bantwal Town police station under Sections 8(c) and 20(b)(ii)(b) of the NDPS Act, the public prosecutor said.A chargesheet was submitted to the court after a detailed investigation and obtaining a forensic report by inspector TD Nagaraj. In the meantime, the case was split up since Sagar Sinch, who was out on bail, was absconding. The court examined 10 witnesses and marked 29 documents.Following this, Judge Basavaraj held Farooq guilty under Sections 8(c) and 20(b)(ii)(b) of the NDPS Act, wherein the maximum punishment is up to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. Farooq, who was on bail, was sent to judicial custody.Public prosecutor said that Farooq has a case pending against him for allegedly transporting 2.1kg of ganja, registered at Mangaluru South police station.
