Odisha police crackdown on ganja peddlers; over Rs 3 crore worth properties seized from father-son duo

Puri (Odisha) [India], May 29 (ANI): Odisha police have seized over Rs 3 crore worth of property of a father-son duo in raids across various places on Sunday, officials said.

The duo – Bijay Kumar Pani (50) and his son Satrujit Pani (23)- was arrested by the Odisha Police’s Special Task Force (STF) on May 3 and six quintals of ganja along with Rs 60 lakh in cash recovered from their possession, according to Puri Superintendent of Police K Vishal Singh had told reporters in a press conference.

They were arrested under the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) act, other relevant sections under Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substance Act.

In order to break the financial funding and to trace and identify the illegally acquired property by the accused Bijay Kumar Pani and his son Satrujit Pani financial investigation had been initiated in the case.

A police team on Sunday raided various locations and seized immovable and movable properties -valued at more than Rs 3 crore) from the accused persons, said the Puri SP. The duo acquired properties from ill-gotten money obtained from transactions of Ganja, the Puri SP said.

The accused persons were procuring ganja from Kandhmal and had stored the same at various places with the intention of selling it during the upcoming Rath Yatra that starts in Puri this June.

Timely action was taken by Puri Police and a huge quantity of Ganja was seized, the SP added.