MP: Ex-Dist Panchayat V-P Held In 8-Year-Old NDPS Act Case

Pipliya Mandi (Madhya Pradesh): Former district panchayat vice-president Gunwant Patidar was arrested in Budha village on Thursday for his alleged involvement in an eight-year-old Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case. Patidar was immediately presented in court after his arrest and subsequently, orders were issued to send him to jail. Meanwhile, Patidar's brother and NojawanKisan Sabha president Prafull Patidar accused the police of fabricating allegations to harass them.

According to a police press release, on February 4, 2016, the police intercepted a trailer breaking through police barricades and seized 32.68 quintals of poppy husk, a pistol and bullets. The driver and his accomplice, however, managed to escape. A case under Arms Act was registered and an investigation was launched. Further investigation led to the identification of one of the two accused, Zakir Husain Farukh of Gandhi Nagar, Jiran.

A reward of Rs 10,000 was announced for Zakir's arrest. Subsequently, on January 29, the police arrested him from his in-laws' house in Ratlam. During interrogation, Zakir revealed the name of his accomplice, Kamal Singh alias Kamal Rana of Rajasthan, who is accused in 37 cases. A production warrant was issued against Kamal on March 9 by the special session judge, Mandsaur. Rana implicated Gunvant Patidar during his remand, leading to Gunvant's arrest. Gunvant was also implicated as a co-accused in the poppy husk case.

According to the police, Gunvant is involved in eight cases in the district. On the other hand, Prafull alleged that the police were harassing them due to political vendetta and fabricated cases against them. He mentioned an incident from 2015 during the district panchayat elections when they filed a case against Kamal Rana for death threats at Nahargarh police station. They accused Kamal of including Gunvant's name in the poppy husk case out of malice. SP Narendra Solanki stated that the police's actions were appropriate.