IPS officer sent to jail in drugs case

An IPS officer from the Jammu & Kashmir cadre Saji Mohan has been convicted and sentenced to 15 years rigorous imprisonment by a special court in Mumbai in a drug peddling case dating back to 2009.

Mohan is the son of an ex Indian Army officer who had served in the United Nations' peacekeeping force and was also awarded a gallantry medal.

Mohan was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad 10 years ago - in January 2009 - with 44 kgs of narcotics including 12 kgs of heroin worth several crores in the international market.

After his arrest, he was placed under suspension.

He was then attached to Enforcement Director as deputy director based in Kochi. Prior to that, he was a zonal director with Narcotics Control Bureau based in Chandigarh.

The case was tried by a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) court, which sentenced him to 15 years rigorous imprisonment. His bodyguard and driver Rajeshkumar Kataria was awarded 10 years jail term while another person, Vicky Oberoi, a Mumbai businessman, was acquitted.

Special public prosecutor Avdhut Chimalkar said that Mohan was previously guilty in another case and hence 20 years rigorous punishment be awarded to him.