Cop turns thief; Senior CPO steals seven sacks of Hans kept as evidence

KALPETTA: A case has been registered against a policeman in connection with the theft of narcotic substances that was kept as evidence at the Sultan Bathery Police Station. The case has been filed against Sabith, a senior Civil Police Officer (CPO) at the station. Sabith stole around seven sacks of banned tobacco products. These were seized from the check post and kept at the police station as evidence in accordance with a court order.

The stolen items included 13,800 packets of Hans, packed in seven sacks, along with banned tobacco products such as Cool Lip. They were stolen from the room in the police station building where seized materials are kept under tight security.

The theft came to light when the station and assistant writers arrived to conduct an inspection. It was found that the room was opened using the key kept by the writer, without breaking the lock. This led investigators to suspect someone from within the police station itself.

The theft was on the night of July 18. Sabith was on general diary (GD) duty at the time. The theft was carried out after midnight. CCTV footage had earlier been obtained showing him arriving in his own car and transporting the sacks away.

The investigation will examine, among other things, whether the accused received assistance from anyone outside or from within the police station.

The police have launched a search for the accused, who is presently on the run. Since a policeman is the accused in the case, Bathery DySP has recommended departmental action against him.