Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Nov 29: The Mapusa Special NDPS Court has discharged three individuals—Lanny Fialho, Sushant Sahoo, and Pravesh Salam—in a long-standing case involving the alleged illegal cultivation of a 10.8 kg cannabis plant valued at around Rs 10 lac.

The case stemmed from a Calangute police raid on December 5, 2017, behind Holy Cross Chapel in Aradi, Candolim. During the raid, Sushant Sahoo and Pravesh Salam were arrested for allegedly cultivating cannabis plants, and property owner Lanny Fialho was subsequently booked under the NDPS Act and the Biological Diversity Act.

Defence counsel Adv. Michael Nazareth argued that evidence—including photographs, the panchanama, and inventory—showed the plants had no flowering or fruiting tops, which are required to classify the plant as Ganja under the NDPS Act.

The court agreed, stating that there was insufficient evidence to link the accused to ownership of the property or to the alleged cannabis cultivation, and therefore discharged all three.