Mumbai cocaine bust: Peon's family claims he is being framed

When the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB arrested a top executive of the Yash Birla group Anant Vardhan Pathak for possession of cocaine they also put two of his aides behind bars One of them his peon Dharmu Ramu Rathod was found in possession of 45 grams of cocaineHis family members however allege that Rathod is being made a scapegoat in the case Adding weight to their claims is the fact that Rathod earns a mere Rs 10000 each month from his boss The total cost of the consignment is Rs 40000 which comes to approximately Rs 9000 a gramFamily of Dharmu Rathod circled outside court where the accused were produced yesterday PicsShadab KhanThe arrests took place after the Income Tax IT Department conducted some searches on various offices of the Yash Birla group for suspected tax evasionDharmu Ramu Rathod being produced in courtThe cocaine was discovered on Friday night when the officers were rummaging through room 667 at the Taj Mahal Palace on Apollo Bunder which had been booked in the name of 31yearold Pathak who is group president for Corporate Affairs and Corporate Communications in the Yash Birla group Rathod was accompanying Pathak at the time The IT department conveyed the information to the NCB and the arrests followedAnant Vardhan Pathak in black was produced in court where he was represented by lawyer Parvez Memon PicShadab KhanDuring interrogations Rathod told the police that Dilip Palekar Pathakrsquos personal security officer who was also arrested gave him the drug Investigations revealed that Pathak had bought the consignment from a local drug dealer for Rs 40000 Rathodrsquos family members allege that he has been made a scapegoat and that there is no way in which he could have gathered the means to purchase such a costly drug when his salary for an entire month amounts to Rs 10000His wife Shanti said ldquoWe are poor people We cannot afford to have such expensive addictions His salary is just Rs 10000 How can he buy such expensive drugsrdquo Shanti added ldquoHe has never consumed cocaine He had even quit the job some months ago but Pathak called him back luring him with a raise What will we eat when my husband the lone breadwinner of the family has been sent to jail I have four kids and the entire house to look afterrdquoRathodrsquos family could not even afford the services of a lawyer An advocate Naresh Rathod who hails from his native state of Karnataka agreed to represent him free of cost ldquoMy client has only followed his bossrsquo Pathakrsquos orders He does not have food to eat at home and has four kids staying in a slum in Cuffe Parade How can he consume cocaine such an expensive drug Everybody is trying to frame him and thatrsquos why the cocaine was also shown in his possessionrdquo said the advocate Naresh RathodPunishmentWhile the possession of 2 grams of the drug is considered to be in the noncommercial category possession of anything between 2 and 100 gms is recognised to be lsquocommercialrsquo in nature Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act the possession and purchase of more than 2 grams but less than 100 grams of cocaine is punishable with rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakhldquoThey will now try to prove that there were three people who were trying to consume the drug to make it fall under the noncommercial category and reduce the quantum of punishment meted out to each Or they will put the whole blame on my clientrdquo the advocate added ldquoThe accused are in our custody and we are investigating furtherrdquo said Rohit Kathiyar zonal director NCB Preliminary investigations undertaken by the NCB have revealed that the cocaine was purchased for Rs 40000 from an unidentified dealer whom they are searching for