PANAJI: From earning a few hundred rupees by selling balloons to raking in thousands and even lakhs by peddling marijuana, some of the slum dwellers who've made the periphery of Campal's parade ground their home had charted a phenomenal success story up until the cops dashed all their dreams.
As many as three of these slum dwellers have been arrested for selling Marijuana (Ganja) at different places in the capital city this year and Ganja leaves worth of lakhs of rupees recovered from them.
Interestingly the accused are all natives of Pandharpur in Maharastra and lived in the slum huts they build at the edge of Campal's parade grounds. This slum family also sell seasonal items like balloons for their livelihood.
On Thursday, Panaji police arrested 65-year old Vithal Chawan who was residing in the same slum huts with 2 kilos of Ganja worth Rs 2 lakh. He was arrested when he came to meet his customer at the Panaji bus-stand.
A few months ago, Panaji police had also arrested Parshuram Pawar with Rs 2 lakh worth of Ganja from the Panaji market area. The accused is also a native of Pandharpur and was residing in the same slum area in huts.
One more person was arrested from the plush Altinho area. He too resided in the huts along the Parade grounds' periphery. Police said the trend has prompted them to keep a close watch on the hutments at the Parade grounds.
