Opium worth Rs 8 cr cultivated in maize field in Chhattisgarh's Durg; BJP leader, 2 others held
Durg (PTI): A BJP Kisan Morcha leader and two others were arrested on Saturday for allegedly cultivating opium worth Rs 8 crore in a maize field in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, a police official said.
Durg Superintendent of Police Vijay Agrawal identified the accused as Vinayak Tamrakar, the state coordinator of the Rice Mill Processing Project of the BJP Kisan Morcha here, as well as Vikas Bishnoi (27) and Manish Thakur (45).
The illegal cultivation was detected on farmland located between Samoda, Jhenjhari and Sirsa villages under the jurisdiction of Pulgaon police station and the Jeora-Sirsa police outpost, he said.
An inspection this morning revealed opium plants interspersed with maize crops, apparently grown to conceal the illegal plantation spread over 5.62 acres in the middle of a 7-acre plot, police said.
Officials added the land is owned by Madhumati Tamrakar and Pritibala Tamrakar, while the agricultural work is managed by Vinayak Tamrakar.
Durg Additional Tehsildar Kshama Yadav stated that an investigation is underway to ascertain how the opium crop was cultivated on the farm.
Additional Superintendent of Police Manishanker Chandra said a case has been registered under the NDPS Act.
A preliminary investigation has shown that individuals from outside the state were brought in for opium cultivation, police said.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh BJP president Kiran Singh Deo said Vinayak Tamrakar had been suspended with immediate effect for tarnishing the party's image.
Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that Vinayak Tamrakar was cultivating opium on nearly 10 acres of land in Samoda village.
The former chief minister alleged Tamrakar is an influential person who interacts with senior officials and ministers.
Tamrakar had earlier denied the allegations and claimed the case was politically motivated.
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KKR defeat LSG via Super Over
Lucknow (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders edged Lucknow Super Giants via Super Overs in a battle between two bottom-placed teams in the IPL, here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 156, LSG suffered a batting collapse and managed to tie the contest and take it to Super Over with No. 9 Mohammed Shami striking a last-ball six against a wayward Kartik Tyagi, who leaked 16 runs in the final over.
But Sunil Narine bowled a stunning Super Over conceding just one run and taking two wickets to give KKR an easy target.
Rinku Singh then finished the chase with a boundary off first ball from Prince Yadav.
Earlier the KKR were in deep trouble with 93/7 in 15 overs but Rinku smashed a sensational 83 not out from 51 balls including four sixes in a row in the final over to lift them to 155/7.
Cameron Green (34) was the only other batter to reach double-digit scores as KKR suffered a familiar batting meltdown with Mohsin taking his maiden fifer.
In reply, LSG continued their dismal show with the bat to succumb to their fifth loss in a row.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 155/7; 20 overs (Rinku Singh 83 not out, Cameron Green 34; Mohsin Khan 5/23). Lucknow Super Giants 155/8; 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 42). KKR won via Super Over.
