978 kg ganja seized in 22 actions in Yavatmal in six months
Police in Yavatmal district seized 978 kg of ganja worth Rs 2.05 crore in 22 actions over six months, finding cannabis hidden among cotton and pigeon-pea crops. The drive included 848 plants found in three acres at Kumbhari and a similar intercropping case in Pandharkawda amid farm-income distress.
🇮🇳 Yavatmal district, Maharashtra · India
Plants destroyed
848
Cannabis
978 kg
Value (official estimate)
INR 20,500,000
Police in Yavatmal district carried out 22 cannabis actions in the six months
before the 3 November 2026 report.[1]The operations seized978 kg of ganja.[1]Police valued the seized ganja at 2.05 crore rupees.[1]In parts of the
district, growers hid cannabis behind cotton and tur, a pigeon-pea crop.[1]In
Kumbhari in Ghatanji taluka, officers found 848 cannabis plants in a three-acre
plot among tur and cotton.[1]Officers also uncovered cannabis grown concealed
in tur in Pandharkawda taluka.[1]
Police described cultivation in the district as still limited but said a future
rise could not be ruled out.[1]The report notes the Centre fixed 2025-26
minimum support prices of 7,710 rupees per quintal for medium-staple cotton and
8,110 rupees for long-staple cotton, while farmers complain actual market
returns fall short.[1]
Progressive farmer Mahendra Mankar said growers get no expected price whether
output is high or low.[1]The report calls for strict police action alongside
awareness and policies giving lawful farming stable income rather than treating
the issue as crime alone.[1]
Photos and video
Police and farmers with sacks of harvested ganja plants in a cotton field in Yavatmal Source: Hindusthan Samachar
3 November 2026 is the publication date; no separate dates for the 22 actions are given, only that they occurred in the prior six months.
No arrests, charges or court outcomes were reported.
The 848 plants are described as found; seizure, uprooting or disposal is not detailed, and whether their weight is included in the 978 kg total is unclear.
The three-acre figure describes the intercropped plot at Kumbhari, not a separately stated destroyed area, so no hectares are recorded.
Only one accessible source for this event was opened.
Central zone police incinerated about 451kg of ganja seized in 232 cases across nine districts at a private facility near Thanjavur under the Drug-Free Tamil Nadu campaign. Thanjavur and Trichy range DIGs oversaw the court-ordered destruction in the presence of other senior officers.
Government Railway Police arrested three women at Agartala Railway Station after finding 23.770 kg of suspected ganja in their backpacks. Police put the black-market value at about Rs 11 lakh and are investigating the source and intended destination.
Excise officials seized 1.4 kg of dried cannabis hidden beside a railway track in Mahabubabad district during checks around the railway station and Kuravi Gate. The same operation raided Kuravi villages over illicit liquor, arresting three people in those liquor cases.
Tamil Nadu Police destroyed 1,760 kg of ganja seized in various cases at an authorised facility at Thenmelpakkam in Chengalpattu district on 3 November 2026. The disposal, ordered under a one-day statewide anti-drug operation, was attended by senior crime-branch, anti-narcotics and forensic officers.
