Smack Turns Out To Be 'Khaini' After Two Years: Bihar Court Acquits Man Arrested In Narcotics Case
The court directed the swift disposal of the case and asked the FSL director to submit the investigation report in this regard.
Published : June 13, 2025 at 4:46 PM IST
By Dev Raj
Patna: In a bizarre twist, Bihar's Muzaffarpur District Court has acquitted a man, arrested two years ago on charges of possessing 'smack' after the suspected narcotic substance turned out to be 'khaini' (chewing tobacco) during forensic investigation.
Accused Parshuram Sahni, a resident of Kolhua Paigambarpur village, was acquitted by the Court during hearing of a bail petition. The court directed swift disposal of the case and asked the FSL director to submit the investigation report promptly. The report came on May 26 this year and the prosecution presented it before the trial court on May 29. It clearly stated that the seized substance was not smack, but nicotine-containing khaini.
Based on the FSL findings, special narcotics court judge Narendra Pal Singh asserted that Shani’s crime was not proved and acquitted him of the charges on June 10.
The judge also cautioned the police to “avoid such wrongful arrests” and asked them to “exercise vigilance in investigations” as such misunderstandings were not only detrimental to individuals, but also impacted the judicial processes.
The Case
Sahni was arrested during a raid in Imli Chowk area by a team led by sub-inspector Amit Kumar from the Ahiyapur police station on the night of July 20, 2023. Police had claimed that around 15 small packets of smack were recovered from him.
Each packet weighed around 0.44 grams and the weight of the entire consignment was 6.60 grams, police had said at the time of his arrest. The police filed a charge sheet in the court under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act on September 19, 2023.
Once the court started hearing the case, the prosecution produced six witnesses and 13 pieces of evidence to bolster the charges. However, the forensic science laboratory (FSL) report revealed that the narcotics substance was actually chewing tobacco. The court acquitted Sahni following the FSL findings.
“It was a very difficult time for me and my family. Two years is a long time, especially if you are innocent, and are trying to prove that you have not done anything wrong,” Sahni told reporters after being released from jail.
Sahni lambasted the police for the mistake and stressed that the forensic examination should have been completed on time.
Experts in the police department revealed that 'smack' is an opioid that is usually in brown gooey or powder form, while 'khaini' is small cut pieces of tobacco leaves. Both the substances cannot be easily mistaken for one another.
Sources said that the senior police officers were now mulling about conducting a probe into how smack became chewing tobacco, and whether it was a conspiracy or a sabotage of the case.
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