6 cops suspended for falsely implicating student:Mandsaur SP admits procedural lapses; High Court questions, ‘If the youth must wait 10 years for justice?’

The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench on Tuesday heard a petition alleging that an 18-year-old student from Malhargarh, Mandsaur, was forcibly taken off a bus and falsely implicated in an opium trafficking case under the NDPS Act. During the hearing at the court, Mandsaur SP Vinod Kumar Meena appeared in court and admitted that the arresting team belonged to the Malhargarh Police Station and that the mandatory investigation procedures were not followed during the arrest and investigation.
He informed the court that six police personnel have been suspended, and a departmental inquiry has been initiated into the incident.
After extensive arguments, the Indore bench reserved its order. Family claims student was brilliant, preparing for PSC According to the family, the youth, Sohan, had passed Class 12 with first division and was preparing for the PSC exam. He had travelled to Mandsaur on 29 August to visit relatives when he was allegedly framed in a fabricated narcotics case by the police. Court’s sharp question: “Should he wait 10 years for the verdict?” Representing the state, government counsel argued that the facts would become clear during the trial. The bench responded sharply, asking, Should the accused youth wait 10 years for the trial court’s decision? The court also questioned why legal procedures were not followed despite 55 police personnel being posted at the Malhargarh station. How the student was picked up from a bus On 29 August 2025, Sohan was travelling from Mandsaur to Pratapgarh. Around 11:39 am, a team of 3–4 policemen boarded the bus and forcibly pulled him out.
Cops took the accused to the Malhargarh police station, where he was booked for possession of 2.714 kilograms of opium, and produced in court the next day. FIR vs CCTV footage: contradictions exposed The FIR stated that Sohan was detained near Banda Khaal Chouraha following a tip-off, and that 2.714 kg of opium worth Rs 5.42 lakh was recovered from his backpack. However, CCTV footage from the bus revealed that police personnel boarded the bus and forcibly took him away—contradicting the FIR narrative. CCTV footage changed the case The family obtained the bus CCTV footage from the travel company. It showed police boarding the bus at 11:39 am and detaining the student. Yet, the opium case was registered only at 5:17 pm that evening. The video, when submitted in court, significantly weakened the police version. Police earlier misled the court During the first hearing on 5 December, the police claimed that the team seen in the footage was not from Malhargarh. However, photos and videos proved otherwise, prompting the High Court to summon the SP in person. NDPS charges carry harsh punishment Possession of 2.714 kilograms of opium is a grave offence under the NDPS Act, attracting 10–20 years of imprisonment. The High Court observed that the arrest and investigation process in this case appeared highly questionable.