Incident where beauty parlour owner was arrested in fake drug case; HC stops arrest of woman's relative

KOCHI: Court intervention in the case of Sheela Sunny, the beauty parlour owner who was caught in a fake drug case and imprisoned for 72 days. High Court has stayed the arrest of the relative who is suspected of trapping Sheela Sunny. Livia, the younger sister of Sheela Sunny's niece, was granted protection from arrest by the court.

Livia had filed an anticipatory bail application in High Court alleging that Excise was trying to frame her in a false case. The court stayed the arrest until the petition was disposed of. An explanation has also been sought from the government.

Sheela had given a statement that she suspected the woman, a close relative and a student in Bengaluru, behind implicating her in the drug case and putting her in jail. The woman used to come to Sheela's house in Pariyaram. She had visited before the arrest as well and stayed in the same room. She stated that there was no enmity. Sheela had also alleged that the Excise had put her in jail on the basis of a false report that she had gone out for drug sales.

Excise reached Sheela Sunny's beauty parlour in Chalakudy on the basis of a WhatsApp call informing them that her bag contained a collection of intoxicating stamps. The person who informed the Irinjalakuda Excise CI said that the stamp would be in Sheela's bag or car and she could be caught if they reach before 4:30 in the evening.
The excise team reached the beauty parlour and recovered 12 stamps from Sheela's bag and vehicle following which she spent 72 days in jail. She was released from jail on May 10 after the lab report came out that it was not an LSD stamp that was found.