Chandigarh: In the first ever case of
capital punishment in a drug crime, a special Narcotics court
here has awarded death penalty to a person while sentencing
an African national to 15-years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI).
The court of Special Judge (Narcotic Drugs and
Physchotropic Substances Act) Shalini Singh Nagpal awarded
death sentence to one Paramjeet Singh for trafficking 10
kilograms of Heroin and supplying it to an African national
Sestus Benson in 2007.
Till now the maximum punishment in drug crime has been RI
and a heavy fine.
"Paramjeet was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau
(NCB) on November 30, 2007 in Chandigarh's sector-39 as he was
illegally delivering 10kg Heroin to Benson. What made his
crime grave was that Paramjeet was out on parole granted by a
Delhi Court in another drug trafficking case," NCB Special
Public Prosecutor Kailash Chander said.
This is a first-ever case of capital punishment being
awarded in a drugs trafficking case. Benson has been awarded
an RI of 15 years and a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh by the court,
Chander said.
NCB Zonal Director Rohit Katiyar confirmed the
development to PTI and said the judgement in the case was
historic and would act as a "deterrent in illegal drugs and
crime cases".
"This is a historic judgement. The judgememnt will go a
long way in curbing the menace of narcotics abuse in the
country, especially amongst the youth," Katiyar said.
Paramjeet was earlier arrested by the agency in Delhi in
2005 and was granted parole by a Delhi Court and the
Chandigarh court not only relied on this fact but also the NCB
probe to deliver today's judgement under the Prevention of
Illicit Traffick in Narcotic Drugs and Physchotropic
Substances Act (PIT NDPS), Chander said.
Chander said the case stood the test of time as during
the prosecution, Benson asked for re-testing of the 10kg
contraband which was seized during the operation in 2007 by
NCB.
"The Heroin was found to be 69 per cent pure after the
convict asked for a re-test and the special court ordered for
it," Chander said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 22:28