Kochi: The Excise Commissioner has been ordered to conduct a probe into the complaint that three engineers based at the Cochin International Airport were falsely implicated in a drug case months ago. As per the complaint, the excise officers wanted to frame them in a cannabis (ganja) possession case over vested interests.
As per the case filed by the excise on June 15, 1 kg ganja was found from the engineers' residential quarters. As allegations of a cooked-up case soon emerged, an Additional Commissioner (Enforcement) of the Excise Department had probed the issue. However, the probe report was allegedly dumped by the higher-ups in the department.
The state Minister for Excise has refuted this claim.
"The government has ordered for a departmental enquiry into the complaint. The Excise Commissioner can take strict action based on the investigation," Excise minister T P Ramakrishnan clarified
"The government would never protect the erring officers. It is wrong to allege that the probe report was dumped," minister added.
The Excise Department has now tasked an Assistant Commissioner to hold a probe. However, this officer is junior to the Additional Commissioner who had earlier conducted the probe by four ranks.
The engineers were tasked with fuelling work at the airport as part of a bid to enhance security of airlines. The conspiracy against them was reportedly hatched by labour union leaders at the airport with the help of the office-bearers of an excise employees' association. The conspirators likely wanted to promote the vested interests of private fuel suppliers by replacing the engineers engaged in refuelling duties.
An impostor too
Meanwhile, it has emerged that an impostor, posing as an excise officer, was also part of the alleged ploy to implicate engineers in the fake ganja case.
The impostor, who introduced himself as inspector P S Sujith, had conducted the raid at the engineers' residence at S R Hostel at Nedumbassery and took them in to custody.
The raid was held around 3pm on June 15. However, inspector P S Sujith was not even present at the Aluva excise office during this time.
The accused officers have not revealed the identity of the imposter.
As per Sujith's statements, the excise team did not enter the residential space of the engineers.
"I reached the Aluva excise office on that day by afternoon. The preventive officer Ummer said that he had received information over the phone that weed was being sold in large quantities at the SR Hostel area. When we rushed to the area in the excise vehicle, we saw three youths standing by the roadside in suspicious circumstances. When the team questioned them, they handed over three small ganja packets they had kept in their pockets,” he explained.
These statements were reiterated by all the officers, who were found to be erring during the probe by the excise enforcement additional commissioner. However, the driver of the excise vehicle said that the team conducted raids at the hostel but did not get any narcotic substance.
But the Additional Commissioner allegedly did not make any attempts to find out who passed on the fake information to the excise that 1 kg ganga was stored at the engineers' residence.
Four of the officials, who took part in the ganja raid, were not aware of the actual ploy.
