Police raid ganja plantation in Karad

The Karad police raided a 13-guntha ganja plantation near Kale village in Karad taluka, Satara, on Friday and confiscated 36 ganja plants weighing a total of 270 kg.

The farm owner, Sanjay Bhimrao Salukhe (35), who allegedly planted the trees, has been arrested.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team, led by local crime branch inspector Sambhaji Patil and Karad taluka inspector Barkat Mujawar, carried out the raid on Thursday night. Salukhe had tried to hide the ganja plants by planting other trees around them.

The police estimated the cost of the seized plants at Rs5.40 lakh. It took more than three hours for the police team to uproot the ganja plants. The police told media persons that the ganja was planted solely for smuggling.

In 1995, the police had seized 27 sacks of ganja in Satara. However, this is a unique case where a ganja plantation has been detected in the district.