NDPS court rejects Mamta Kulkarni’s plea in an international drug racket case

Rajesh S Gupta, the Additional Sessions Judge, who is also the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, Judge, gave the order last week.

In the application, Mamta submitted that she has been falsely implicated in the case and is the only bread earner of the family and one of her sisters is suffering from a mental ailment and under medical treatment at a centre in Panvel for the past eight years.

Elaborating further, she said that freezing of the accounts has hampered the medical treatment of her sister. The patient also needs to be kept in a sound and clean environment, she said.

Hence, the flats should be resealed for the stay of her sister, Mamta pleaded.

Opposing the request, the special public prosecutor pointed out that the accused was already chargesheeted in the case registered on April 12, 2016.

Since that time, the fugitive actress is not only living in Kenya but also an active member of a crime syndicate, the prosecution.

It argued that the coercive measures, including the freezing of accounts, were taken only after all the legal pleas to appear before court fell on Mamta’s deaf ear.

If the application of the accused is accepted then she will never come forward even after committing a heinous and serious crime, it underscored.

After hearing both sides, Judge Gupta remarked, “The accused has not turned up before the Court nor appeared before the investigating agency. Hence, in the said facts and circumstances, I do not find any substance to unfreeze the bank account and de­seal the flats as prayed.”

On April 14, 2016, Thane Crime Branch seized over 20 tonnes of ephedrine and 2.5 tons of acetic anhydride from a pharmaceutical factory, Avon Life Sciences in Solapur, and other locations in Thane and Ahmedabad.

Further probe revealed the involvement of Mamta, her husband and their collusion with the Kenyan-based international drug mafia.