The police headquarters in Lucknow has ordered an inquiry into reports that rats had eaten much of 581kg of cannabis seized and kept at the malkhana (store room) of two police stations in Mathura.

The cannabis, seized from peddlers since 2018, had been kept at Shergarh (386kg) and Highway (195kg) police stations since 2018.

A court in Mathura has asked the district police to provide evidence on November 26 in support of their claim that rats had polished off the cannabis. After the police had submitted samples of the drug in court, additional district and sessions judge Sanjay Chaudhary had asked the force last week to produce the entire seized amount.

The local police told the court on Tuesday that “the cannabis was not there in the malkhana of the two police stations as rats had eaten” much of it, while the remaining had been destroyed by rainwater that had seeped into the store rooms.

According to the police, the drugs were worth Rs 60 lakh. Chhote Lal, the inspector-in-charge of Highway police station, told reporters on Friday: “The cannabis was recovered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and some of the accused had claimed that they had been falsely implicated. Some others had said the police had exaggerated the quantity of the seized substance. Some cannabis was eaten by rats and some spoilt when rainwater entered the malkhana. The last time rainwater entered the police station was on October 7.”

Sonu Kumar, the inspector of Shergarh, said: “We will produce the rotten ganja in court. Rainwater has spoilt it. Some cannabis was eaten by rats.”

While the accused are out on bail, the cases are pending in court. The police claim that Mathura is a transit point for peddlers who ferry drugs from Rajasthan and supply them in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.

At least four instances of seizure of drugs and alprazolam tablets have been reported in Mathura in 2022.

The police said an individual can possess 1 to 20kg of cannabis for use in medicinal products after procuring a licence from the government.

Alprazolam tablets must not be sold without a prescription from a registered medical practitioner.