Kerala: Two kg of ganja seized from Polytechnic hostel in Kochi

Two kg of ganja were seized from the mens hostel of Government Polytechnic College Kalamassery near Kochi police said on Friday reported news agency PTIThe raid conducted on Thursday night led to the arrest of three students police officials saidTwo of the students were released on station bail while Akash 21 a native of Kulathupuzha Kollam was booked under a separate FIR after authorities recovered 1909 kg of ganja from his room reported PTIThe second FIR names two other students Adithyan 21 a native of Haripad Alappuzha and Abhiraj 21 a native of Karunagappally Kollam from whom 970 grams of ganja were seized They were granted station bail police officers said reported PTIAccording to the police the contraband was intended for both sale and personal useThrikkakara Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP P V Baby stated that the police conducted the raid based on a tipoff about huge quantities of ganja being stored on campus ahead of Holi celebrations reported PTIBoth insiders and outsiders are involved in drug peddling with former students and external individuals playing a key role he told reportersHe added that outsiders could not have accessed the hostel rooms without the consent of those residing there Therefore it cannot be said that the hostel residents had no involvementThe police are also investigating individuals who frequently visit the hostel and campus as part of the probe In addition to the drugs police seized two mobile phones and identity cards from the suspectsMeanwhile Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan reacted to the arrest of Abhiraj R the Students Federation of India SFI college union general secretary reported PTIHe alleged that SFI union leaders are involved in the ganja seizure case accusing the Leftaffiliated student organisation of facilitating drug supply in college hostels and campusesHe claimed that the drug mafia is expanding its network with political patronage and that SFI is playing a key role in this spread across campusesSatheesan urged the CPIM leadership and the state government to take strict actionThe SFI has come out in the defense of the alleged person asserting that no contraband was recovered from his possession and that he does not have a history of drug useThe arrested student Akash along with two others who fled the campus during the search are active members of the Kerala Students Union KSU SFI Kalamassery area president Devarajan told the media reported PTIHe urged for a probe into the two students who escaped as one of them contested in the union elections under the banner of KSUKSU is the Congress student wingAbhiraj who was released on station bail also claimed that he was being unfairly targeted in the case However Thrikkakara ACP said that the police did not look into the political affiliations of the students during the investigationThree students were caught redhanded and they were directly involved in the case he stated reported PTIThe ACP also said that the medical examination of the accused was conductedA senior police official stated that this is the largest quantity of ganja ever seized from a college hostel in KeralaThe search which began on Thursday night lasted nearly seven hours concluding at 4 am on Friday according to police officialsIt was carried out jointly by the Kalamassery police City Police Narcotic Cell and the District AntiNarcotics Special Action Force DANSAF they addedPolice have initiated a detailed inquiry into the caseWith inputs from PTI