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The spectacular collapse of a much-hyped Narcotics Management Bureau (NCB) investigation into alleged drug conspiracy prices in opposition to Aryan Khan holds classes for these answerable for essential companies, policymakers and other people. Because the arrest of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son in October final yr, a number of alleged procedural lapses had come to gentle, solely to be capped by the anti-drug company’s chargesheet in courtroom final week admitting that corners have been minimize in what turned out to be an atypical drug case, not a global conspiracy as had been alleged by the company on the time.
The sordid episode confirmed that few classes had been learnt from the botched probe into the Sushant Singh Rajput case of 2020, and harsh feedback by the judiciary had not tempered any inclination by sure officers to go after high-profile targets and play to the plaint galleries. It underlined the hazards to civil liberties by the growing utilization of harsh provisions of stringent legal guidelines, such because the 1985 Narcotic Medication and Psychotropic Substances Act, to disclaim bail and limit mobility. Each the Rajput and Khan circumstances proved how rapidly baseless narratives may be stitched along with selective leaks and focused propaganda, and highlighted the necessity for the federal government to insist that each one investigations, nonetheless high-profile, should at all times comply with process laid down by legislation.
The NCB chief has indicated that the company has requested its investigators to now solely concentrate on high-value, drug syndicate busts and never trouble with petty circumstances that may be handled on the native degree by the police. He has additionally indicated that the probe shall be evaluated for lapses and intention. It is a welcome step, however the investigation should reply the questions that many voters shall be elevating now – whether or not the company overstepped its remit, bringing its investigative independence into query, or whether or not an officer and his staff misused their powers to show a degree, and even worse, peddle affect or try extortion. The solutions shall be uncomfortable, however essential to provoke a structural change and avert a repeat sooner or later.
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