Four held with about ₹23 lakh worth ganja at Secunderabad Railway Station

Four individuals from Maharashtra, including three women, were arrested at Secunderabad Railway Station on Friday while transporting 46 kilograms of dry ganja from Odisha to Aurangabad. The seized contraband is valued at ₹22.93 lakh.

The accused, identified as Bali Atish Pawar, 24, Rohit Godaji Chavan, 35, Rajani Rohit Chavan, 28, and Padma Ashok Pimpale, 44, were arrested by the Secunderabad Government Railway Police (GRP), Elite Anti-Narcotics Group for Law Enforcement (EAGLE) team and Railway Protection Force (RPF) during surprise checks at the station. Two other accused from Berhampur, Odisha, Bhura and Ashish Kumar, remain at large.

The arrested individuals, all relatives from Ahmednagar district, had boarded the Falaknuma Express at Berhampur after purchasing 21 packets of ganja weighing a total of 45.8 kilograms. On arriving at Secunderabad in the morning, they waited in the general waiting hall for the Devagiri Express to reach their destination. Around 12.40 p.m., they were intercepted by police personnel during a routine anti-drug check, aided by a sniffer dog. On questioning, all four confessed to carrying the contraband in their bags.

Police said the main accused, Bali Atish Pawar, came into contact with the absconding suppliers while working as a labourer in Khammam two years ago. She was previously arrested in an Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case in 2023 and remanded to jail. After being released, she resumed smuggling ganja from Odisha to Maharashtra, buying it for ₹5,000 per two-kilogram packet and selling it for double the price.

Recently, she met the other three accused at a family gathering where they discussed their financial problems. Pawar then convinced them to join her in the smuggling operation, promising high profits. They travelled together to Odisha, procured the ganja, and attempted to transport it by train.