Tiruvannamalai police intensified checks on sadhus along the Girivalam path for banned substances on Saturday after recent arrests.
The District Police in Tiruvannamalai carried out the drive on the 14 km Girivalam path near Arunachaleswara temple. Officers focused on possession of ganja and gutka among sadhus staying in the area.
The action followed the arrest of three persons by Tiruvannamalai West police for possession of two kilograms of ganja. Police said the group was selling the substance to sadhus and visitors.
Around 300 sadhus currently stay along a 10 km stretch of the path between Chengam Road and Abayapuram. Most come from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and live in shelters run by NGOs and the temple.
Earlier efforts included fingerprinting and photographing sadhus for a database sent to the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System. A plan for unique identity cards with QR codes was also discussed, but police sources said the database has not been updated since.