CIVIC ACTIVIST BOOKED UNDER STRINGENT NDPS ACT DISCHARGED

Civic activist Faiyaz Shaikh, convenor of the Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum, was on Tuesday discharged from a case filed against him under the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

- Jyoti Punwani

The order by special NDPS judge SM Patil, uploaded on Wednesday, said there was not enough evidence to proceed against Shaikh under section 8 of the Act, which relates to selling narcotics.

"This wasn't just a case. It was a calculated attempt to crush my image and silence my voice as a civic activist," a relieved Shaikh told HT. The case against him was filed in May 2024, at the fag end of the Lok Sabha poll campaign, in which the Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum had actively campaigned for the INDIA alliance candidate and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Dina Patil.