400 opium plants found on private university campus in Sonepat

A day after 140 opium plants were detected on a university campus in Rohtak, the Sonepat police found 400 opium plants in a private university in the Rajiv Gandhi Education City at Rai on Friday. The police have arrested a gardener and a probe has been launched. The accused has been identified as Sant Ram of Sultanpur district in Uttar Pradesh.

Narinder Singh Kadyan, DCP Crime and DCP West, said that the crime unit-1 led by ASI Surender was on patrolling duty when he got a tip-off about the illegal cultivation of opium on the campus of World University of Design among flowers in a huge quantity.

Following the tip-off, the team raided the university campus along with Drugs Control Officer Munshi Ram and an assistant project officer of the Horticulture Department on Friday.

The team carried out a search operation for the opium plants being cultivated illegally on the campus among flowers. The team recovered a total 400 opium plants of the height of around 3-4 feet and the total weight of the ‘dodas’ was around 40 kg, the DCP added.

DCP Crime Narinder Singh Kadyan also reached the spot and inquired about the cultivation of the opium plants on the university campus. Accused Sant Ram has been arrested and produced in court, which sent him to police remand to find about the involvement of others, the DCP added.

The plants were around 4-foot high and ‘dodas’ had appeared on it. Apart from this, cuts were also found on ‘dodas’, which clearly showed that these were used by someone, the DCP added.

The police team removed all plants to prevent illegal activities on the campus, the DCP Crime said.

Following the directions of the DGP, a special campaign against drugs had been launched in the area to save the youth and students from drug menace and around five-six universities had been inspected so far under this campaign.

The DCP further said that the investigation in the matter was under way and the gardener was being grilled to get information about the people involved in the illegal cultivation of opium.