Odd graffiti on house wall leads cops to marijuana farm

An unusual graffiti on the outer wall of a house in southeastern Bengaluru’s HSR Layout has unwittingly led the police to a marijuana farm.

The catchy graffiti — ‘Don’t get panic, it’s organic’ — caught the attention of Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths who raided the house in 2nd Sector only to find marijuana being grown in pots by Pradeep Thimmegowda, a 28-year-old college dropout. They found several pots in the passage of the first-floor house.

The raid, carried out by the CCB’s women and narcotics wing under Assistant Commissioner of Police, B S Mohan Kumar, yielded 5.5 kg of marijuana worth Rs 3 lakh.

But what really took the police aback was Thimmegowda’s audacity. Showing no remorse, he bluntly told them that marijuana must be legalised as it’s organic and has medicinal values. He even asked the police to lobby with the department concerned in this regard. It’s already legal in some countries, he said.

Police told him they would consider his request but said they had to enforce the law of the land. Accordingly, they booked him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. A magistrate later sent him to jail.

Police have seized two mobile phones from Thimmegowda and are trying to trace people who supplied him the banned substance. According to police, Thimmegowda got addicted to marijuana six years ago and soon dropped out of the BCom course.

Being jobless and having no source of income, he started cultivating marijuana and selling them to his contacts. He even sourced the contraband from one Govindappa of Kanakapura, police said.