Hyderabad: Shamshabad Rural Police arrested a 49-year-old man for illegally cultivating ganja plants at his residence in Ootpalli village’s Diamond Estate colony, officials said on Saturday.
According to CI Narender Reddy, the arrest followed a tip-off that the accused was growing marijuana alongside regular vegetable plants. Acting on the input, police reached the premises and found several ganja plants being secretly cultivated next to the house.
The accused, identified as Tarkeshwar Singh, along with his wife Bimal Singh, son Bunty Singh, and daughter Rupali Singh, was present at the house during the raid. The house is registered in Bimal Singh’s name.
Singh, originally from Darbhanga district of Bihar, had migrated to Shamshabad years ago and was working as a labourer. He later started a small curry point business in Madhura Nagar.
During interrogation, Singh told police he became addicted to chewing tobacco products. Four months ago, he encountered unidentified individuals under the ORR bridge near Ootpalli who gave him a substance he believed to be more potent than regular gutkha. When he inquired about its source, they asked him to return daily.
Singh began consuming ganja regularly and later decided to cultivate the plant at home to avoid buying it outside. He admitted to growing and chewing the leaves himself.
Following his confession, police registered a case and produced him before court. He has been remanded to judicial custody.