Bihar Man Handed 10-Year Prison Sentence for Ganja Smuggling in Tripura

Agartala: A special court in West Tripura sentenced 55-year-old Montu Yadav to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for smuggling 22.625 kilograms of dry ganja. The Special Judge for the NDPS Act handed down the ruling on July 28, 2025. Yadav, a resident of Baraitha village in the Gogri Jamalpur area of Bihar’s Khagaria district, must also pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh. He faces an additional six months behind bars if he fails to pay.

Police acted on a tip. On the night of January 11, 2025, a joint team from the Agartala Government Railway Police Station and the Railway Protection Force raided the Agartala Railway Station. Officers spotted Yadav acting suspiciously. They detained him, searched his belongings, and seized the contraband. The arrest followed all legal protocols.

Sub-Inspector Pankaj Kumar Das of the Agartala GRPS led the investigation. He filed the chargesheet, recorded as SPL (NDPS) 95/2025, on June 30, 2025. The court convicted Yadav under Section 20(b)(ii)(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Police officials praised the outcome. One official stated that the ruling "sends a strong message against interstate drug trafficking networks operating through Tripura’s transport hubs." Authorities hope this conviction discourages organized syndicates using state rail lines for illicit transport.