ITANAGAR, Aug 1: A special court in Arunachal Pradesh’s Papum Pare district has sentenced a 41-year-old woman from Assam to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh after convicting her under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possessing 34.72 grams of heroin.
Special Judge (NDPS) Dr Hirendra Kashyap found Saheeda Khatoon, a resident of Assam’s Nagaon district, guilty under Section 21(b) of the NDPS Act. The court directed her to pay a fine of ₹1 lakh, failing which she will undergo an additional two months of simple imprisonment. It also ordered that the 11 months and 24 days she had already spent in judicial custody be set off against her sentence.
The prosecution stated that Banderdewa Police, acting on specific intelligence on February 17, 2025, raided Khatoon’s rented house at Niya Colony and recovered 34.72 grams of heroin concealed in three soap cases inside a blue backpack. The search was conducted in the presence of Naharlagun SDPO Rishi Longdo and two independent witnesses, while the operation was videographed. A forensic examination later confirmed the seized substance to be heroin.
During the sentencing hearing, the defence sought leniency on the ground that the convict was the mother of minor children. The prosecution opposed the plea, alleging that she was a habitual drug peddler facing trial in another NDPS case involving commercial quantity of narcotics and was wanted in several drug-related cases in Assam.
Rejecting the plea, the court observed that the convict was allegedly involved in repeated narcotics offences and held that she did not deserve the benefit of probation. The court also remarked that drug trafficking was destroying the future of the youth and stressed the need for stringent punishment to curb the growing menace. It informed the convict of her right to appeal before the Gauhati High Court.
