PANAJI
Exactly eight days after the first cannabis plant, found amid Smart City works in Panaji, surprised both citizens and Goa police, a third such plant was discovered on Saturday, raising further questions about its source and intent.
The latest plant was found growing in a plastic paint bucket placed among other plants in Tonca. Police sources said it appeared the plant had been uprooted from elsewhere and replanted in the bucket, as its leaves looked wilted. The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) seized the plant for analysis and is expected to register a fresh case.
The first cannabis plant was found on January 4 in the parking lot outside Caculo Mall. ANC officials had rushed to the site, uprooted the half-grown plant (as it had no mature cannabis flowers), and seized it for investigation. An FIR against unknown persons was registered for cultivation, a punishable offence under the NDPS Act.
Two days later, a second plant was found growing among ornamental plants along the newly renovated footpaths in St Inez, part of the city’s Smart City project. The ANC officials were once again called to the scene, where they uprooted and seized the plant for investigation.
Police sources said the repeated occurrence of cannabis plants in public spaces is a concern for the department, and they are now investigating whether these are isolated incidents or part of a deliberate act.
