THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The City Shadow Police returned after a ganja hunt in a Maoist region in Andhra after having an encounter with armed criminals. Youth traveling as the pilot to a car carrying ganja tried to threaten the police using a gun. The police team faced them without losing courage and returned after a journey spanning hours. An investigation conducted by Poonthura Police regarding ganja peddlers reached a place called Dakshayani near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The police posed themselves as ganja peddlers themselves and carried Rs. 5 lakhs as ‘show money’. The team traveled via Tamil Nadu and reached Dakshayini on the second day. The team met Prasad, the leader of ganja peddlers. As there were no signs of suspicions and the money was verified, a deal was agreed. As a guarantee, a person stayed with the shadow police team and the ganja lobby then took a spare car to a hill 113 kilometers away.

The vehicle returned, filled with ganja. Two people piloted the way on a bike. Sreenu aka Sreenivas (21), who brought the ganja was trapped by the police. It was at this time that bikers confronted the police with a gun. The police team responded well and the bikers had to retreat. Sreenivasan was taken to a police station along with the ganja and the police team returned to Thiruvananthapuram via Tamil Nadu.

This is a rare case where the police went and conducted an operation in another state to catch the culprits. Sreenivasan was caught by a police team led by Dy. Commissioner R. Aditya, Asst. Commissioners Pramod Kumar, Santhosh Kumar and consisting of shadow SI Sunilal, shadow ASI Gopakumar, Arunkumar, and Yesodharan.