Bizman arrested for cocaine possession gets bail

Hyderabad: Businessman Manyam Krishna Kishore Reddy, who was arrested by the police on Monday for possession of cocaine, along with event organiser Mohit Agarwal, was granted bail by a city court on Tuesday.

The police, meanwhile, were accused of flouting the law while arresting drug peddlers and cracking down on drug networks. Many accused alleged high-handedness and cited threats and physical assaults by the police as reasons for bail.

The city police have been cracking down on drug networks since January 2022, when Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announced a war on drugs. The police are arresting peddlers as well as consumers, despite possessing drugs for an array of reasons.

In a recent case, the family of a suspected peddler, said that the man was picked up forcefully from their residence in the dead of the night without concrete evidence.

As per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, there are different provisions for the possession of small and commercial quantities of various drugs, including for medical use. The action is also lenient on those possessing small quantities and cooperating with the investigation.

Further, addicts or users volunteering for treatment are afforded immunity from arrests for possessing small amounts of narcotics.

However, many alleged that the police were not considering such situations.

Also, suspects can only be searched in the presence of a gazetted officer, after serving a notice that comprehensively details the grounds for the search. But, such procedures are not followed, it was alleged.

However, the police defended their actions, with a senior official saying that arrests are made only after gathering substantial evidence of a person’s role.

“Except in a few cases, in all the cases, suspects are caught red-handed with drugs in their possession. The cases are thoroughly investigated to make a watertight case, so that they are punished in the court,” the official said.