Drone survey leads to seizure of 51 ganja plants in Asifabad
Police in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district used a drone survey led by ASP Chittaranjan to identify ganja cultivation in Kerameri mandal. At Narayanaguda village, 51 plants grown by Rathod Balaji as an intercrop among cotton and redgram were seized and a case registered. In Lingapur mandal's Ghumnoor (K), 35 plants were found in Ada Lakshman's (30) cotton field. Since June 2025, the sub-division logged 51 cases and seized 560 plants. Information may be given on Dial 100 or 8712670551.
Source
Nizamabad — నేరాలు · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (4)
- A drone survey in Kerameri mandal identified 51 ganja plants grown as an intercrop in Rathod Balaji's cotton and redgram field at Narayanaguda, Antapur panchayat. — Figure and names appear in source, attributed to district police action; no independent verification possible.
- In Lingapur mandal's Ghumnoor (K), Ada Lakshman (30) was found cultivating 35 ganja plants in a cotton field and a case was registered. — Stated in source as police finding under SI Ganganna; internally consistent.
- Since June 2025, the Asifabad sub-division has registered 51 cases and seized 560 plants. — Attributed to ASP Chittaranjan; coincidentally matches the 51-plant figure elsewhere in the story, so editors may wish to confirm.
- Public can report ganja cultivation on Dial 100 or 8712670551, with confidentiality and a reward. — Attributed to ASP Chittaranjan in the source.
Analysts’ view opinion
Read legally, this is a routine cultivation enforcement action with one novel element: drones being used as the primary detection tool for crops hidden as intercrops. Cannabis cultivation is an offence under India's narcotics law, and the story confirms plants were seized and cases registered against named individuals in Kerimeri and Lingapur — but registration of a case is only the first procedural step, far from proof of guilt. The interesting questions ahead are evidentiary: how aerial imagery is corroborated by ground search, seizure panchnama and chemical analysis, and whether the land's cultivator is legally the person responsible.
- Cultivating cannabis without authorisation is a criminal offence in India, and the police framing of cultivation, transport, sale and consumption as serious offences is consistent with that statutory scheme.
- Quantity matters enormously in narcotics law — penalties and bail treatment turn on small, intermediate or commercial quantity — and the story gives only plant counts, not weight or any analyst's finding.
- Drone surveillance of open agricultural fields is generally easier to defend than intrusion into a dwelling, but privacy jurisprudence after the Supreme Court's recognition of privacy as a fundamental right means aerial monitoring programmes still invite questions of legal authority and proportionality.
- Procedural compliance is where such cases most often succeed or fail: independent witnesses, proper seizure and sampling, timely forwarding of the report, and the safeguards narcotics law attaches to search and seizure.
- The offer of confidentiality and a reward to informants is a recognised policing practice, but informant-based and surveillance-based cases still require corroborated, court-admissible evidence linking the accused to the plants.
What to watch — Watch whether chemical analysis and quantity determination place these seizures in the small-quantity bracket — which shapes bail and sentencing — and whether the accused are shown to be the actual cultivators of the plots.
The story does not establish the specific charges, the legal weight or grade of the seized material, whether any arrests were made, or the legal framework authorising the drone surveys — and no allegation here amounts to a finding of guilt.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 3 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Kumram Bheem Asifabad district in Telangana has seen ganja (cannabis) being grown covertly as an intercrop inside cotton and redgram fields, making it hard to spot from the roadside. Police there have begun using drone surveillance over farmland to locate such plots and then coordinate eradication with the Excise and Revenue departments. On October 12, 2025, a drone survey led by ASP Chittaranjan resulted in the detection and seizure of ganja plants in Kerameri mandal, while separate ground searches in Lingapur mandal yielded more plants. Police say cultivation, transport, sale and consumption of ganja are serious offences and have set up a tip-off line with rewards and confidentiality for informants.
Key facts
- A drone survey supervised by Kumram Bheem Asifabad ASP Chittaranjan identified ganja cultivation in Kerameri mandal, as reported on 12 October 2025.
- At Narayanaguda village under Antapur gram panchayat, Kerameri mandal, 51 ganja plants grown by Rathod Balaji as an intercrop among cotton and redgram were seized.
- A separate search in Ghumnoor (K) village, Lingapur mandal, found 35 ganja plants in the cotton field of Ada Lakshman (30); a case was registered and inquiry is on.
- Since June 2025, the Asifabad sub-division has recorded 51 ganja cases and seized 560 plants, according to the ASP.
- Police said eradication is carried out in coordination with mandal police, the Excise department and the Revenue department.
- Wankidi Circle Inspector Satyanarayana and Kerameri SI Madhukar took part in the Kerameri operation; the Lingapur search was led by SI Gangannna.
- Public can report ganja cultivation or transport on Dial 100 or 8712670551; informants' details will be kept confidential and a suitable reward given.
- ASP Chittaranjan said drone surveys and local police team checks will continue on a sustained basis to fully suppress ganja cultivation in the district.
Timeline
- Since June 2025Asifabad sub-division registers 51 ganja-related cases and seizes 560 ganja plants.
- 12 October 2025 (report date)Drone survey led by ASP Chittaranjan detects ganja intercropped in Kerameri mandal; 51 plants seized at Narayanaguda and a case booked against Rathod Balaji.
- Same periodLingapur mandal police under SI Gangannna seize 35 ganja plants from Ada Lakshman's cotton field at Ghumnoor (K) and register a case.
Who has a stake
- Kumram Bheem Asifabad district police / ASP Chittaranjan — Leading drone-based detection and eradication drive; accountable for suppressing ganja cultivation in the district.
- Excise and Revenue departments — Coordinate with police in identifying and destroying ganja plots on agricultural land.
- Accused cultivators Rathod Balaji and Ada Lakshman (30) — Face registered cases and legal action for illegal ganja cultivation.
- Farmers of Kerameri and Lingapur mandals — Fields under drone surveillance; intercropping ganja with cotton or redgram invites criminal prosecution.
- Youth and local communities — ASP said narcotics like ganja are destroying the future of young people; public asked to inform police.
- Informants / general public — Can call Dial 100 or 8712670551 with assurance of confidentiality and a reward.
Why it matters
Concealing ganja as an intercrop between cotton and redgram is a detection challenge for conventional patrolling, and the use of drones shows how low-cost aerial technology is being folded into routine rural policing. The scale flagged by police — 51 cases and 560 plants seized in one sub-division since June 2025 — indicates cultivation is not isolated but recurring. It also raises questions of inter-departmental coordination, farmer awareness and the drug-demand chain that the enforcement drive seeks to break.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Kerameri and Lingapur are mandals in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, Telangana.
- ASP Chittaranjan led the drone survey that detected 51 ganja plants at Narayanaguda village, Antapur gram panchayat.
- 35 ganja plants were seized from a cotton field at Ghumnoor (K), Lingapur mandal, from Ada Lakshman (30).
- Asifabad sub-division: 51 ganja cases and 560 plants seized since June 2025.
- Police helplines for ganja information: Dial 100 and 8712670551, with confidentiality and reward.
- Eradication is done jointly by police, Excise and Revenue departments.
Mains framing
Illicit ganja cultivation in interior mandals of Kumram Bheem Asifabad is being hidden as an intercrop within legitimate cotton and redgram fields, defeating ground-level patrolling and making aerial detection the practical enforcement response — hence the drone survey led by the Additional Superintendent of Police that led to the seizure of 51 plants at Narayanaguda and a parallel ground seizure of 35 plants at Ghumnoor (K). The sub-division's record of 51 cases and 560 plants seized since June 2025 suggests a persistent, dispersed supply base rather than one-off offences, with implications for youth drug use that the police themselves emphasised. Causes plausibly include the cash attractiveness of a concealed crop in remote, forest-fringe agrarian areas; implications include criminalisation of cultivators, pressure on district enforcement capacity, and the need for evidentiary rigour when aerial imagery triggers searches. The way forward, as indicated in the source, lies in continuous drone surveys combined with local police checks, structured coordination with Excise and Revenue for eradication, and a confidential, reward-backed public tip-off mechanism through Dial 100 and the dedicated number — supplemented by awareness so that farmers are deterred before cases are registered.
Key terms
- Ganja
- Cannabis; its cultivation, transport, sale and consumption are serious criminal offences, as stressed by the Asifabad ASP.
- Intercrop (antara panta)
- A secondary crop grown between rows of a main crop — here ganja concealed among cotton and redgram to avoid detection.
- ASP (Additional Superintendent of Police)
- Senior district police officer; ASP Chittaranjan led the drone survey and eradication drive in Asifabad.
- Drone survey
- Aerial monitoring of farmland using unmanned aircraft to spot illegal plantations before ground teams move in.
- Dial 100
- Police emergency helpline; used along with 8712670551 for confidential, reward-backed tip-offs on ganja cultivation.
- Excise department
- State agency dealing with intoxicants and narcotics enforcement, working with police and Revenue on eradication here.
Practice questions
- How can drone-based surveillance strengthen rural crime detection in India, and what safeguards should accompany its use as evidence?
- Examine the challenges of curbing illicit cannabis cultivation concealed as an intercrop in agrarian districts, with reference to inter-departmental coordination between police, Excise and Revenue.
- Discuss the role of confidential public informant mechanisms, such as Dial 100 and reward-based tip lines, in narcotics enforcement at the district level.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.