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A special NDPS court in Mohali has acquitted two men accused of drug trafficking after authentic closed-circuit television footage exposed severe discrepancies in the Punjab Police account of their arrest. The Special Task Force had claimed that it caught the two men with 4,620 intoxicating Lomotil tablets at a checkpoint. However, video footage presented during the trial revealed that one of the accused had been taken into custody from the parking area outside his shop an hour before the alleged official interception. The special court observed that orchestrating dramatic and fictional stories to implicate an innocent citizen is deeply troubling and unfortunate.
Forensic examination confirms video authenticity
The case collapsed after Silli Bhalecha, the sister of accused Sunny Bhalecha, moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that her brother had been framed in a fabricated narcotics case. She submitted a pen drive containing security camera footage that recorded the actual circumstances under which Sunny was detained. Acting on the petition, the High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation on October 29, 2025, to have the video examined by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory located in Chandigarh. Forensic experts confirmed the footage was fully authentic, showing no traces of cuts, editing, or tampering, with continuous time continuity.
Camera footage contradicts official police claims
The forensic findings turned the recording into decisive evidence that dismantled the official police version. The video captured Sunny Bhalecha being escorted by policemen from his shop parking lot at approximately 4:20 pm, whereas official records placed the arrest at a police checkpoint after 5:20 pm. Furthermore, while the Special Task Force maintained that the two suspects arrived together on a motorcycle carrying a bag of illegal pills, the visual evidence showed Sunny walking alone on foot with no motorcycle and no package in hand. When presented with this recording in court, Assistant Sub-Inspectors Harvinder Singh and Karamjit Mohan alongside Inspector Hakam Singh refused to identify the police personnel or the site shown on screen.
Acquittal exposes fabrications in checkpoint interception
According to the initial police case, the Special Task Force had set up a checkpoint near Guru Nanak Sweets in Sector 89 on February 12, 2024, after receiving secret information about a delivery of illicit tablets. Investigators alleged that Ranjit Singh Rania and Sunny Bhalecha were stopped on a Splendor motorcycle, leading to the recovery of 4,620 Lomotil tablets from a black bag hanging from the handlebars. Police subsequently invoked Section 27 of the NDPS Act after Sunny tested positive in a dope test the following day. Finding the prosecution claims contradicted by objective forensic analysis, the court acquitted both men on November 6, underscoring the crucial role of digital evidence in ensuring investigative accountability.
