Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 30
A court directive to release oil tankers impounded from a petrol pump in relation to the fuel adulteration exposé was met with public resentment in Chumukedima today. It resulted in a daylong impasse between the police and the public spearheaded by the Chumukedima Town Youth Organisation (CTYO).
The outright display of public anger forced the police to withhold executing the magisterial directive to another day.
Police said it was only carrying out an order to release and hand over to the owners, 8 of the 11 trucks (oil tankers), which were found at Nagame Petrol Pump when ACAUT carried out inspection of suspected adulteration sites on June 27 leading to the exposé. The Chumukedima public and the ACAUT held that the move would be detrimental to the ongoing investigation into the case.
The order was passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur on August 10, 2016. It cited two Supreme Court Judgments – General Insurance Council & others Vs State of Andhra Pradesh & Others (2010) and Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai Vs State of Gujarat (2002) – as the basis behind the release. The petition to release the trucks was filed by the Dinanath Prasad Shah.
The court order however came on the condition that the petitioner should not create any third party interest with regard to the vehicles, should not make any alteration and/or modification and the petitioner should produce the seized vehicles as and when required.
It also noted that as submitted by the counsel for the petitioner, the 8 trucks “were all empty at the time of seizure” and were kept at the site for “parking and have no connection in the instant case.”
The CTYO and ACAUT however pointed out an anomaly in the list of trucks ordered to be released. The two organisations contended that the list of trucks mentioned in the order did not match with the police seizure memo.
Cross-checking of the seizure memo with the court order revealed that one truck (NL-08A -3451), which was listed as loaded in the seizure memo was also included among the trucks set for release. The order on the other hand was only for those which were listed as empty, the organisations contended.
Objecting to this apparent anomaly, the CTYO and ACAUT has demanded that it be verified. While stating that it will be appealing the court to cancel the release, ACAUT further alleged that the contents of the truck might have been siphoned, which resulted in it being included in the release list.
Meanwhile, it was reported that the SIT investigating the case was neither aware of the release directive nor was it aware of the petition for release of the trucks.
