Five people were arrested near Tiruppattur, in Sivaganga district, for allegedly planting a packet of ganja at the grocery shop of Rajkumar, an activist who had campaigned against a local liquor outlet, to frame him.[1][2][3]
The protest
Rajkumar of Thirukkalappatti, who runs a grocery and e-service shop, led protests against a Tasmac liquor outlet and its attached private bar, which villagers said harmed students, women and farmers.[4] Villagers had petitioned repeatedly against them[1], and on 4 November 2026 they blockaded the road demanding the shop’s closure; it was temporarily closed and officials promised to move it within ten days.[1][4]
The search
Officers of the Sivaganga prohibition enforcement wing searched Rajkumar’s shop and found a packet of ganja and gutka, a chewing tobacco, by the drain in front of it, then questioned his wife and mother about selling banned goods.[1][5][6] According to CCTV footage Rajkumar reviewed, two men posed as customers and dropped the packet, and two plainclothes prohibition officers arrived in a private vehicle about five minutes later.[1][7] When he showed the officers the footage, they took copies and left.[5] Rajkumar, with CPI(M) district secretary Mohan, party members and villagers, besieged the district police headquarters and complained to Superintendent of Police Abhishek Gupta.[1]
The arrests
Police said Periya Chokkanathan, who had an earlier enmity with Rajkumar, bought 5 grams of ganja from Sundar and 750 grams of banned tobacco from Jayamoorthy and arranged with Rajapandi and a boy to place them near a canal opposite the shop.[2][8][3] Rajapandi, 55, of Karendhalpatti, reportedly admitted that the packet was planted to help the bar operators[1]; Dinamalar named the second man as Asai, who worked at the bar.[5] A case was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.[2] The four adults were remanded to judicial custody, and the 17-year-old was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an observation home.[2][8][3]
Additional Superintendent of Police (Prohibition) Francis opened an inquiry into the conduct of the local police on Gupta’s instructions, while police representatives said the patrolling officers had merely responded promptly to information.[1] A senior official told The Times of India that five people had been arrested and the investigation continued, and denied that police were involved.[4]
Reactions
Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption group, demanded that the officers be charged with ganja trafficking and jailed, said Rajkumar escaped years in prison only because his shop had CCTV, and asked how many prisoners had been pushed into false ganja cases.[7] It said transferring or suspending the officer would not be enough, and demanded an inquiry into a bribe it said he took from the bar operator.[7]
The DMK said it stood with the trader and demanded departmental action and a criminal case against the officers.[6][9][10][11][12] In a post on X on 7 November 2026 it demanded that Chief Minister Vijay apologise to him[6][9][10], calling him a “dummy” chief minister.[11][12] It said that under the TVK government a force that once hunted cannabis sellers had become one that plants ganja, letting criminals off while trying to jail ordinary people[10][11][12], contrasted the case with an alleged Rs 1,000 crore methamphetamine case against a TVK functionary who had not been arrested, and accused the Chief Minister of telling students that drugs are fun.[10][11]
