KOTA: Jhalawar district special team and Kamkheda and Manhorethana station jointly police busted ganja cultivation under the cover of garlic and wheat crops in a 1-bigha plot registered in the name of a temple at Suliya Jangir village of the district on Wednesday and booked the priest and his son under sections of NDPS Act.
While police arrested the son from the spot, the priest fled.
According to Jhalawar SP Kiran Kang Siddhu, police recovered 2,200 ganja plants weighing around 942 kg and arrested Mukesh Bairagi (26). She added that a kilogram of the narcotics having a market value of Rs 75 lakh was separately recovered from his possession.
The youth revealed that his father is priest in a village temple that owns few bighas of agriculture land near Parvan river. He admitted of secretly cultivating ganja and selling it among customers at a price below the market rate, Kamkheda SHO Prembihari Nagar said.
The accused also admitted the involvement of his father Ramswroop Bairagi following which he was also booked under sections of the NDPS Act.
The accused was on Thursday produced before a court and efforts are underway to nab his father, he said.