A court in Handwara has convicted a retired policeman, Mushtaq Ahmad Pir, son of Abdul Ahad Pir, a resident of Kalmoona Tarathpora, for two serious crimes, smuggling drugs (heroin) and possessing a huge amount of counterfeit money. After a long trial that lasted for several years, the Additional Sessions Judge declared that Pir was guilty, under Sections 8/21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Section 489-C of the Ranbir Penal Code.
The case started back on July 12, 2019. Pir, who was serving as a policeman in Jammu and Kashmir during that time, was driving his Santro car with registration number JK01V-1178. A team of police stopped him, and they searched the vehicle. They recovered a packet from inside the air filter. The packet contained approximately 750 grams of a substance that looked like brown sugar. Later, it was verified in a forensic (FSL) report that it was heroin.
When the police interrogated Pir, he gave them information that led to a raid on his residence in Kalmoona. The officers found more illegal items at his residence. They found another 40 grams of heroin and a massive pile of counterfeit money, approximately seven and a half lakh rupees. The counterfeit notes were not even genuine, they had clearly printed names such as “Manoranjan Bank” and “Children Bank of India” and were hidden under some bedding.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution presented 21 witnesses, including all the officers involved in the case. The evidence, such as the seized drugs and forensic reports, proved the case. Pir’s defence team claimed that the search was not conducted properly, but the court dismissed their claims since the police testimony and evidence were very uniform.
The judge remarked that what Pir did was a “grave breach of duty,” meaning he totally betrayed the public’s trust, especially since his job was to stop crime, not commit it. Pir was found guilty under the law of drugs (NDPS Act) and the law on counterfeit money (Ranbir Penal Code). His official punishment will be announced soon, and the court warned that the drug charge carries a very tough sentence.
