Mathura: Strange as it may sound, Mathura police claim the rats ate more than 500kg of marijuana.
According to a report lodged by the Mathura Police in the Special Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985) court, the rats “ate” more than 500kg of cannabis which was confiscated and stored in Shergarh and highway police warehouses middle.
Earlier this year, a court ordered Mathura police to produce marijuana recovered in a case registered under the NDPS Act.
Another magistrate has ordered SSP Mathura Abhishek Yadav to eliminate the “rat menace” before presenting evidence that the rats actually consumed 581 kg, Rs 60 lakh worth of marijuana to be exact.
The rat and rate, despite their small size, were not afraid of officers, the officer told the judge.
The court also issued five-point directions on the auction/disposal of weed stored in police warehouses.
“A time-bound action will be taken pursuant to court order,” Acting Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mathura, Martand P. Singh said, while Special Prosecutor Ranveer Singh said, “The SHO of Shergarh and Highway Police claimed that the 581 kg stored in the warehouse The weeds were destroyed by rats. The police have consistently found it impossible to secure the substances stored in the storage area mentioned above. The court has ordered the police to give evidence on the claim and has set November 26 as the next hearing date.”
Notably, in May 2020, three men were arrested in Mathura for smuggling cannabis in a truck. The truck was intercepted near Jatwari village in Shergarh district and 386 kg of weed hidden in bags of millet was recovered from the vehicle. The three defendants were registered and placed in judicial custody under the NDPS Act.
The court has ordered police to produce the marijuana seized in the case.
A similar case occurred in 2021 when police officers at the Kotwali Dehat police station in Etah district claimed that rodents consumed more than 1,400 boxes of seized alcohol worth over Rs 3.5 lakh.
Another Director General (ADG) of the Police (Agra Region), Rajeev Krishna, has assigned an IPS officer from Aligarh to look into the matter.
FIR registrations were made against police station officer Indreshpal Singh and chief of staff Rasaal Singh after initial investigations revealed that the police had sold the seized liquor to gangster Bantu Yadav.
