Bijapur, Jan 9 (ANI): Police and excise officials recently destroyed cannabis plants, spread across an area of ten acres, in Maoist infested Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.

Two people, both belonging to Tamil Nadu, were detained by the police who they say were hired by the Maoists for cannabis cultivation.

During our routine patrolling, we came to know that cannabis cultivation is going on here on a large scale. The cannabis was being grown in an area of around eight to ten acres,” said Avinash Mohanty, Superintendent of Police, Bijapur district.

Police suspected that Maoists are behind the cannabis cultivation and said that they used the profits obtained by selling it to procure arms and ammunition for carrying out their activities.”Without the help of Maoists, cultivation of cannabis out here at such a large scale is not possible. The profit earned from this cannabis cultivation was used by the Maoists to carry out their activities,” said Mohanty.

Cannabis, also known as hemp, has many medical uses but is supplied in the black market as the psychotropic drugs marijuana and hashish. (ANI)