Ganja use at GITAM Hyderabad: One more student tests positive

Hyderabad: The Telangana Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Force has detained two more students of GITAM University for questioning in its probe into suspected ganja use on the campus, and one of them has tested positive for the drug, officials said.

The other student tested negative in the urine screening, they said.

The inquiry was taken up on a petition. During the inquiry, a 22-year-old student of the university underwent a urine test and was found positive for ganja, officials said.

The matter was referred to Patancheru Police, who registered a case against him under Section 27(b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The section deals with consumption of drugs such as ganja and carries a jail term of up to six months, a fine of up to Rs 10,000, or both.

When questioned, the student reportedly told officials that he and some of his friends had been buying ganja in Nanakramguda.

Some students had left campus

Following this, a team of EAGLE visited the university and spoke to the official in charge of the campus located at Rudraram near Patancheru in Sangareddy district.

Officials also questioned other students linked to the case. A woman student tested negative. Some of those whose names came up during the inquiry were either away from the campus or had already left the university, it was learnt.

Two more students were then detained for further questioning.

Both were counselled, officials said. The elder brother of the student who tested positive was also counselled. The student’s parents will be counselled once they return.

Meeting with anti-drug panel

The EAGLE team also met the university’s anti-drug committee to improve coordination on keeping drugs off the campus.

The agency said the investigation would continue. It urged students, parents and educational institutions to work together to prevent substance abuse.

The EAGLE Force has been running similar checks at other campuses in and around the city. In August, it raided the University of Hyderabad (UoH) and detained a peddler accused of bringing ganja from Assam and selling it to students. Two of the two dozen students tested were found positive.

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