Agartala, November 11, 2025: In a sweeping crackdown on illegal cannabis cultivation, a joint task force led by IPS officer Bikash Senthiya launched a massive anti-narcotics operation in Tripura’s Banshibari area under Bishalgarh police station on Tuesday morning. The operation began at 6 am and continued until noon, resulted in the destruction of approximately 55,000 cannabis plants spread across 25 plots of forest department land.
Despite repeated police actions in previous years, cannabis cultivation had once again flourished in the region, particularly on government-owned hilly terrain. Growers, undeterred by law enforcement, had been nurturing the plants with care, continuing a pattern of defiance.
This year, however, the administration responded with unprecedented force. The operation was led by Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Bikash Senthiya and included personnel from Bishalgarh Police Station, TSR, BSF, CRPF, the Forest Department, and the 14th Battalion’s women’s TSR unit.
The Banshibari area straddles the jurisdictions of Bishalgarh and Kalamchoura police stations. While Bishalgarh police have consistently conducted anti-cannabis drives, locals allege that growers in the Kalamchoura sector have operated with impunity, allegedly due to the inaction or complicity of local law enforcement. This perceived protection has allowed cultivation to thrive year after year, undermining the state government’s vision of a drug-free society.
During Tuesday’s operation, cannabis cultivators reportedly watched helplessly from nearby forests as their crops were cut down and destroyed. Speaking to the media personnel afterward, SDPO Senthiya confirmed that large swathes of illegal plantations remain in the region. “Wherever such cultivation is found in my jurisdiction, it will be eradicated in due time,” he asserted.
The scale and intensity of the raid have sent shockwaves through the local cannabis-growing community, signaling a renewed and uncompromising stance by the authorities against narcotics cultivation in Tripura.
