Sultan Bathery (Kerala): A police officer has been suspended after being identified as the primary suspect in the theft of seven sacks of court-custody Hans (banned chewed tobacco) directly from a police station premises.

The District Police Chief initiated disciplinary action against Sabith, a Senior Civil Police Officer attached to the Sultan Bathery Police Station, following an investigative report submitted by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP). The accused officer is currently believed to be absconding.

The theft was done from a storage room located on the Sultan Bathery Police Station premises, where the seized contraband had been kept since June 26. The theft came to light last Thursday when the station writer opened the room for routine cleaning and stock inspection.

The tobacco products were seized from a raid conducted on June 7 at the residence of Ishaaq, a resident of Pallikkandi, located at Beenachi Dottappankulam. During that operation, police seized seven sacks containing 12,000 packets of Hans and 1,800 packets of Cool Lip concealed inside a secret compartment behind a wardrobe, along with an additional sack of tobacco retrieved from a car outside.

After being presented before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court (I), Sultan Bathery, the court officially accepted the evidence and entrusted the police with its secure custody.

Subsequent review of station CCTV footage revealed that Sabith stole the seven sacks during nighttime hours shortly after they were returned from court custody on June 26.

Investigators are currently probing whether the officer acted alone or had inside assistance. Bathery DySP M M Abdul Kareem stated that the investigation is progressing effectively and affirmed that all individuals responsible will be brought to justice.