Khargone police have formed a special investigation team after seizing 60 quintals of cannabis plants from two forest sites, while forest officials in Khargone and Barwani districts have issued notices to officers and beat guards over alleged failure to detect the cultivation.
Khargone superintendent of police Ravindra Verma said the SIT was constituted to arrest those involved, identify the people directing the operation and trace the supply chain. Police are searching for four named accused in connection with the cultivation found in the Chainpur police station area.
The case has also triggered an internal response from the forest department, which manages the land on which the cultivation was detected. Khargone divisional forest officer Ramesh Rathod said he had instructed four range officers and 12 beat guards to patrol forest areas near the Maharashtra border, identify illegal cannabis cultivation and report it to the department.
Rathod told The Times of India that the forest department had not received police letters seeking cancellation of forest leases or pattas linked to the case. He said that once such a request was received, the department would prepare proposals and forward them to the collector for further action.
In Barwani district, sub-divisional forest officer Mukesh Merawi said divisional forest officer IS Gadria had issued notices to four deputy rangers and eight beat guards in the Balwadi sub-division of the Sendhwa forest division. The notices seek written explanations for what officials described as a failure to detect large-scale cannabis cultivation.
Merawi said forest staff had been directed to patrol forest areas regularly and report any cannabis cultivation immediately. The notices place the focus on how the department’s field surveillance operated across forest land, particularly in areas close to the Maharashtra border and other locations that can be difficult to monitor continuously.
The Barwani action follows major cannabis seizures in the Warla police station area, where police identified farmers allegedly involved in the cultivation. Warla police station in-charge Narayan Rawal named Kalu Singh of Takia Pani, Micha and Kamal Singh of Dhokaliya Pani, Vachan of Adnadi and Khelajiya of Sonkhedi among those identified by investigators.
Barwani superintendent of police Padma Vilochan Shukla said police had sent a letter seeking cancellation of forest land leases held by those involved. Police were searching for the accused and examining their call detail records and bank records as part of the investigation.
The police investigation and the forest department’s disciplinary process are proceeding alongside each other. The SIT is expected to pursue the criminal network and supply chain, while the forest authorities must respond to questions about patrol coverage, field reporting and the use of forest leases. Further action on lease cancellation will depend on the forest department’s proposals and the collector’s consideration of them.
