India, Dec 31 : Sometimes, reality unfolds in ways stranger than fiction. In a bizarre turn of events, a court in Ranchi has acquitted a man accused in a major narcotics case after police claimed that rats destroyed nearly 200 kilograms of seized ganja worth about ₹1 crore.
The case dates back to January 2022, when Ormanjhi police intercepted a white Bolero vehicle on National Highway-20 following a tip-off. According to police, the vehicle was carrying a large consignment of marijuana allegedly being transported from Ranchi to Ramgarh. Three individuals were inside the vehicle at the time of interception. While two of them managed to flee, one person, identified as 26 year old Indrajit Rai alias Anurjeet Rai from Birpur village in Bihar, was arrested on the spot.
Police claimed to have recovered around 200 kilograms of ganja from the vehicle and booked Rai under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. However, as the trial progressed, the prosecution’s case began to weaken.
Witnesses presented by the prosecution gave contradictory statements on crucial aspects of the incident, including the exact location and timing of the interception, the officers involved in detaining the accused, and the duration of the search and seizure process. These inconsistencies raised serious doubts about the credibility of the prosecution’s version.
The most startling development emerged when police informed the court that the seized ganja had been destroyed by rats while stored in the malkhana (store room) of Ormanjhi police station. A station diary entry from 2024 was cited, stating that rodents had eaten the contraband. The court strongly criticised this lapse, describing it as gross negligence and questioning how such a large quantity of seized narcotics could be left unsecured.
With the physical evidence no longer available and the chain of custody broken, the court observed that the prosecution had failed to establish a clear link between the accused and the alleged contraband. Procedural lapses in seizure, storage and sampling further weakened the case.
Granting the benefit of doubt, the court acquitted Indrajit Rai of all charges, holding that without material evidence and reliable testimony, the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.