Palanpur: Acting on a tip-off, Malpur police in Aravalli district seized 11.397kg of ganja allegedly being cultivated and stored on the premises of a temple in Ubhran village and arrested three persons in connection with the case.Police said they found six cannabis plants and 11.397kg of dried ganja from the premises allegedly occupied by the priests of Surpaneshwar temple. The seized ganja was valued at Rs 5.69 lakh, while two mobile phones worth Rs 10,000 were also seized, taking the total value of the seized material to Rs 5.79 lakh.Aravalli SP Manoharsinh Jadeja said, “We are investigating if the contraband was for sale or personal consumption.”The accused have been identified as Ravikant alias Rav Giri (45), Roopsinh alias Roop Giri (78) and Santa Kumar (39). All three were residing at the temple premises in Ubhran, though they are originally from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat respectively.Police have also named Hardipgiri Maharaj, identified as the temple’s administrator, as a wanted accused.Malpur police registered a case under NDPS Act, 1985, and further investigation is underway.In a separate case in adjoining Sabarkantha district, the Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested a man with 997.7g of ganja in the Prantij police station area on Wednesday night.Acting on a tip-off, an SOG team intercepted a motorcycle near Moyad village and found the rider, Gajendrasinh Zala, carrying ganja. Police seized 997.7g of ganja, valued at Rs 49,885, along with the motorcycle valued at Rs 30,000 and a mobile phone worth Rs 5,000.Another person, Laxman alias Lalo, a resident of Ahmedabad, is yet to be arrested. The accused was handed over to Prantij police station for action under the NDPS Act.
