Forensic report helps six get bail after drugs case

Six people who were jailed for possessing brown sugar appear to have got a new crack at life after laboratory reports said the powder seized from them was sodium carbonate.

This incident has raised eyebrows among many as to how this turnaround took place.

It was on Aug 9 that a team of excise and police officials took six people into custody at Vaikom near here, following a tip-off.

The police seized an Innova car, a motorcycle and arrested the six men after seizing from them what they claimed to be 1.950 kg of brown sugar worth Rs.50 million in the drug market.

The Thodupuzha Narcotic Court sent the six accused to jail, but things went topsy-turvy when the sample was tested at the forensic laboratory in the state capital. According to the laboratory report, the seized powder had no narcotic substance in it, and it was only sodium carbonate or plain washing soda.

Based on the laboratory report, the six accused secured bail and were released Oct 15.

Now they have asked the excise department to also release their two vehicles seized.

Excise Commissioner S.Subaiha when contacted said he was "unable to give a running commentary on what happened , and the government would have to be contacted for a statement on the case.

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Watching Earth from Space: How Surveillance Helps Us -- and Harms Us (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (repost)

Watching Earth from Space: How Surveillance Helps Us -- and Harms Us (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)
Praxis; 1st Edition. edition (November 1, 2010) | ISBN: 1441969373 | 285 pages | PDF | 165 MB

Our planet is constantly monitored by hundreds of space-borne instruments. This book describes the technology of those instruments and the sciences that provide useful information from them. It also discusses the political implications of space-borne monitoring. From the moment satellites were launched into orbit their ability to see what was happening on a global scale was appreciated — and feared. This well researched book strives to answer such diverse questions as: Are satellites really a threat to individual privacy? How bad, really, is climate change and global warming? Why can’t we find Osama bin Laden? Does the world have enough fresh water? The military side of the story is linked to the big security issues that we face, such as terrorism and civil wars. The civilian side of the story involves numerous successful collaborations in weather forecasting, navigation, communications, and other such "peaceful" uses of satellite surveillance. How the world handles the knowledge gained from these Earth watchers will be critical in the years to come, and Norris skillfully leads us through the issues and possible paths we can take.

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