Mallika Dureja
A special court established by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Mumbai has found two officials from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guilty of assisting a criminal gang in gold smuggling from Dubai during the years 2011 and 2012.
Both Murarilal Meena and Uday Singh Meena, who were working as sub-inspectors at the Airport in 2012, were given a punishment of one year of strict confinement by the special court. Sagar Cheda, the individual who was apprehended while transporting the gold, has also been found culpable along with the others. However, he was given a punishment of imprisonment for a period of six months.
According to the evidence presented by the prosecution, Uday was apprehended on August 10, 2012, while he was in possession of a suitcase containing 5.8 kilogrammes of gold. He stated that the bag contained books and clothes, but when it was examined, gold was discovered inside.
The investigation had revealed that Murarilal and Uday were posted at the Airport during the period of 2011-12, and they assisted the gang of accused individuals led by one Sandeep Jain in carrying the gold that had been brought from Dubai out of the airport. They did this by providing logistical support. In exchange, Jain was required to give them 20,000 for each kilogramme of gold smuggling.
Uday went to the restroom in the corridor on the Mezzanine level of the International Terminal on the day that they were apprehended, after the flight had landed and before they were discovered. Uday carried around a black backpack that was stuffed with a few books and pieces of clothing. While this was going on, another employee of Jain’s named Cheda brought another black sack that contained gold. At the restroom, the packages were traded for one another. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence was waiting for Uday the moment he emerged from the restroom and apprehended him (DRI).
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After some time had passed, the DRI went ahead and filed a complaint against the two employees, Jain and Cheda, as well as the other accused individuals, Jayant Mehta, Mandip Mehta, and Alpesh Jain, with the CBI.
The lack of evidence was the basis for the court’s decision to absolve Sandeep, Jayant, Mandip, and Alpesh.
