Ignorant man raises cannabis plant in Hyderabad: Police destroy

HYDERABAD: Is it a case of love for raising greenery or a random choice to raise a plant? Whatever, what could have been treated as a serious criminal offence under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, has turned out to be an act of ignorance.

A seven-foot-tall cannabis plant, discovered in a home in Gulam Murtaja Chavani in the Old City, was destroyed by South Zone police on August 3,2022.

On a tip-off from an anonymous source, Chatrinaka police in the Old City of Hyderabad rushed to the house and questioned a tenant, Anwar Syed Mahmood, who rented the house from the owner, Mohammad Gulam Murtaja Chavani, about the cannabis plant at his residence.

After examining and confirming that it was indeed a cannabis plant, the police promptly destroyed it. On persistent questioning, the police realised that the tenants had no clue that a banned cannabis plant was growing inside their home.

The Chatrinaka police Inspector Syed Abdul Khader Jilani told Newstap, "We investigated this home in the old city based on information provided by an unknown source." Based on our investigation, we discovered that the tenants at the house did not use the plant for commercial or consumption purposes. In fact, they had no idea about what plant it was and assumed it was a generic plant and a variety of crotons that enhance the beauty of the small terrace garden.

"As strong odour was emanating smell from the plant and wafting in the area, an unidentified person who reportedly had an idea about the strong smell and that it's from a cannabis plant informed the Central Crime Station.

"We investigated and destroyed the plant. We have handed over this case to the excise department so that they can further investigate the case".

This isn't the first time cannabis plants have been discovered in homes. There were numerous incidents in Hyderabad where the police discovered and apprehended people who were growing cannabis in their homes or on their terraces.

In 2021, the Jawaharnagar police arrested a man, PVN Sastry (53), for secretly growing ganja on his terrace. The man planted the saplings for his own consumption as well as to sell to customers.

Another person was caught cultivating ganja in his 3BHK apartment in 2021, a practise he learned on the Internet in 2017. Syed Shahed Husain, 33, grew cannabis plants in two rooms of his flat in Manikonda area. Cyberabad police raided his apartment after he was caught attempting to sell marijuana, and this discovery was made. He was arrested with 40 weed pots, 8.6 kg of ganja, and other temperature-controlling equipment.

Despite the fact that the accused in the previous cases purposefully grew ganja inside their homes, the South Zone Police claimed that in the recent case, the people concerned were not even aware that it was a cannabis plant.

As luck would have it, all is well that ends well.