Indian youth charged in Dubai drug case

A Dubai court has charged an Indian youth, Prasad Divadkar, detained along with three others in October for drug offence, with smuggling, possessing and abusing drugs.

The Court of First Instance formally charged Divadkar on Saturday while dismissing charges against Farhan Azmi, son of member of Parliament and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azim Azmi, due to lack of evidence, media reports said.

The other two, Bonito Dilip Chhabria, son of automobile designer Dilip Chhabria and Shaan Uttam Singh, grandson of Bollywood film producer G P Sippy, were released shortly after their arrest on October 20 from a Dubai hotel.

A senior official at the Dubai Department of Justice told The Gulf News daily that the prosecution was of the view that Azmi had allegedly taken drugs while he was not in the UAE. Thus, they could not press for charges since the alleged crime was outside the department's jurisdiction.

Earlier in a press statement, the Samajwadi Party leader said he knew his son would go free. "Farhan talked to his mother and told her that the inquiry was still going on," he said. "He told her not to worry as he was innocent and would return home soon."