BERHAMPUR: Two police officers narrowly escaped death after ganja smugglers tried to run them over with their pick-up van near Bijapur forest in Rayagada district on Sunday.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Bisamcuttack Akash Chandra Sahu and Chandrapur IIC Mukunda Nayak sustained injuries on their legs. The ganja smugglers, identified as Ashim Takri and Santosh Baliarsingh, were nabbed and 646 kg of the contraband seized from their possession.
Sources said Sahu and Nayak along with a police team were returning from the Maoist-infested Bijapur forest after investigating a case when they saw a pick-up van moving on the road at a high speed.
Suspecting foul play, they tried to stop it but the van driver pushed the pedal and drove towards them. To save themselves, the two officers jumped to the roadside and sustained injuries on their legs. The police team chased the van but the occupants of the vehicle started to throw stones at the cops.
Dodging the stones, police fired at the van and shot out its tyres. When the vehicle stopped, police nabbed Takri and Baliarsingh and recovered the ganja.
The duo was later produced in court. SDPO Sahu said further investigation is underway. “We have launched a crackdown on ganja smuggling in the region. Over 100 smugglers have been arrested and nearly 10,000 kg ganja seized in the last one month.” he informed. Police are also conducting awareness programmes to refrain locals from taking up ganja cultivation and bring transformation.
This year, people of Chandrapur, Sarkima, Hanumanthpur, Budubali and Dangosarada have stopped cultivating cannabis and switched over to various cash crops, Sahu added.