Nagpur: As Maoist influence wanes across Gadchiroli, police are uncovering a different threat emerging from the district’s interior villages. The latest case involves an illegal ganja (cannabis) plantation in Korchi taluka, signalling a shift from insurgency-related challenges to profit-driven criminal activities.
Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Local Crime Branch (LCB) and Kotgul police raided Nangpur village in north Gadchiroli’s Korchi taluka on Sept 6 and seized 44kg of ganja plants valued at nearly ₹22 lakh. Police found the crop growing in the backyard of a house belonging to 58-year-old Adhari Kuwardheriya. Because of the threat of ambushes, during the peak years of Maoist activity, security forces often faced restrictions in entering interior villages.
Police said the seizure is part of a broader crackdown on illegal activities in areas that were once heavily affected by Maoist violence. The decline of insurgent influence has enabled security forces to intensify surveillance and enforcement in remote villages, according to Gadchiroli superintendent of police M Ramesh. A case was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Kotgul police station, and the accused was arrested. He was later remanded to one day’s police custody for further investigation. The Nangpur case is not an isolated one. Police have uncovered several instances of ganja cultivation in Gadchiroli over the past few years. Unlike plantations hidden deep inside forests, the latest crop was being cultivated within a village settlement, suggesting growing confidence among offenders that the activity can generate quick profits. Officials believe improved access to remote areas has made it easier for police to detect such farms. With the insurgency threat receding, law enforcement agencies have widened their focus to include gambling, bootlegging, illegal animal transportation and narcotics cultivation. Kotgul police recently conducted a major anti-gambling operation in the area.