Manawar police station and the Umarban outpost team raided the hills and forests around Chikli village in the Manawar area of Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday 5 November 2026.[1][2] Police said the accused had planted cannabis among a pigeon pea crop, known locally as tuvar, so that it would not be noticed.[3][2] Police said they had registered a case against both men under the NDPS Act, India’s drug law, and were carrying out a combing operation to find them.[3]

The team uprooted 675 green cannabis plants from two fields; 630 came from the field of Shobharam Vaskel and 45 from the field of Mukesh Ginawa.[3][2] Police put the weight of the uprooted plants at 5 quintals 53 kg (553 kg).[3][2] Police estimated their value at about Rs 1 crore 10 lakh 60 thousand (about Rs 1.106 crore) on international and local markets.[3][2]

Both accused named by police, Shobharam Vaskel and Mukesh Ginawa, fled into the hills and dense forest before officers reached the fields, and no arrest was reported.[3][2] The raid was carried out under Operation Prahar, the Dhar district police campaign against illegal drugs, on the orders of Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma; Dainik Bhaskar named the operation in charge as station house officer Rajesh Yadav with sub-divisional police officer Pradeep Walter supervising.[1]

Police described it as the 11th major action against illegal drugs by Manawar police in the previous month.[3][2]

A special police team was formed under Manawar station house officer Rajesh Yadav and outpost chief Prakash Alawa to carry out the raid.[2]