In a significant boost to Tripura’s ongoing campaign against narcotics, a Special Judge of the West Tripura District Court has sentenced a Bihar resident to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for smuggling a commercial quantity of ganja. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict, with an additional six months of imprisonment in case of default in payment.
The convict, identified as Montu Yadav (55), is a resident of Baraitha village under Gogri Jamalpur Police Station in Bihar’s Khagaria district. He was found guilty under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possessing and attempting to transport 22.625 kilograms of dry ganja.
According to prosecution records, the incident took place on the night of January 11, 2025, when a joint team of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) carried out a special operation at Agartala Railway Station based on specific intelligence inputs. During the operation, security personnel noticed Yadav moving suspiciously within the station premises. Upon questioning and conducting a search in accordance with legal procedures, officers recovered 22.625 kilograms of dry ganja concealed in his possession.
Yadav was immediately arrested, and a case was registered under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act. The investigation was conducted by Sub-Inspector Pankaj Kumar Das of Agartala GRPS, who completed the probe and submitted a detailed chargesheet before the court on June 30, 2025.
After examining the evidence presented by the prosecution and recording witness testimonies, the Special Judge found the accused guilty and pronounced the sentence on Tuesday.
Police officials welcomed the verdict, describing it as a major success in Tripura’s sustained crackdown on interstate narcotics trafficking. They noted that railway stations in the state have increasingly been used as transit points by drug smugglers attempting to transport cannabis to other parts of the country.
Officials expressed confidence that the conviction would serve as a strong deterrent to organised drug trafficking networks and reaffirm the commitment of law enforcement agencies to combating the illegal narcotics trade. They also reiterated that surveillance and enforcement measures at railway stations and other transport hubs across the state will continue to be strengthened.
