BENGALURU: Thirty-one students tested positive in a drug test conducted by police at six educational institutions and two hostels in the Vijayanagar sub-division of the West Division on Wednesday. The checks were carried out under the initiative ‘Sanmitra’, introduced by the State Police Department to address the growing issue of drug addiction and adopt a reform-oriented approach towards building a drug-free society.
A senior police officer said that as part of the initiative, the police conducted inspections (N-MASS) related to drug consumption at six educational institutions and two hostels in the Vijayanagar sub-division. Urine samples were collected from more than 1,200 students, of which 585 samples were randomly tested, and 31 samples returned positive results. The inspections were conducted after obtaining consent and no-objection certificates from the college managements.
The officer said the initiative aims to prevent youth from going down the wrong path while providing them with guidance. DCP (West) Yathish N told TNIE that no legal action has been taken against the 31 students so far. Instead, the police will collect information from them and provide counselling. Based on inputs gathered, further action will be taken, he said. He added that the initiative will also be conducted in other subdivisions of the West Division.