Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Inter-state ganja smuggling racket busted on Konark Express
Police officers got a secret tip that something illegal was happening on a train called the Konark Express.
When the train arrived, they checked the passengers and their bags.
They found a 22-year-old man named Niranjan Pradhan carrying packets of dry ganja, which is an illegal drug.
The man, who works fixing sewing machines and comes from Odisha, had 13 packets of ganja weighing 18.538 kilograms.
The drugs were worth about Rs 9.26 lakh, which is a very large amount of money.
He told the police that another person, Deepak Pradhan, told him to carry the drugs from Odisha to the city of Pune.
That person is still on the run, and the police are trying to find him and other members of the drug-smuggling group.
The arrested man and the drugs were handed over to the GRP Nampally police for further investigation.
The EAGLE Force and Railway Protection Force busted an inter-state ganja smuggling racket aboard the Konark Express.
A 22-year-old sewing machine worker from Odisha, Niranjan Pradhan, was apprehended during the operation.
Officials seized 13 packets of dry ganja weighing 18.538 kg, valued at Rs 9.26 lakh, plus a mobile phone.
The accused confessed he was transporting the ganja from Odisha to Pune on the instructions of Deepak Pradhan.
Deepak Pradhan is absconding, and the accused along with the contraband was handed over to GRP Nampally for investigation.
- Who
- Niranjan Pradhan, a 22-year-old sewing machine worker from Odisha; the arrest was made by the EAGLE Force and Railway Protection Force.
- What
- An inter-state ganja smuggling racket was busted, with 18.538 kg of dry ganja valued at Rs 9.26 lakh seized.
- When
- Not specified in the article.
- Where
- On board the Konark Express; the case was handed over to GRP Nampally in Hyderabad.
- Why
- The accused was transporting the ganja from Odisha to Pune on the instructions of absconding supplier Deepak Pradhan.
- Accused
- Niranjan Pradhan
- Age
- 22 years
- Occupation
- Sewing machine worker from Odisha
- Contraband seized
- 18.538 kg dry ganja in 13 packets, plus a mobile phone
- Value of contraband
- Rs 9.26 lakh
- Smuggling route
- Odisha to Pune
- Absconding supplier
- Deepak Pradhan
- Agencies involved
- EAGLE Force, Railway Protection Force, GRP Nampally