THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a crackdown on drug use in student hostels, an excise team seized 20 g of cannabis during a raid at the Government College Hostel for Men near LMS Church, Palayam, on Tuesday.
The contraband was found in room number 455, which, according to hostel residents, was occupied by Pandiyaraj, a native of Chokkanad Estate in Munnar. However, students informed officials that Pandiyaraj had vacated the room early Monday morning. The excise department has since intensified search for him.
Acting on a tip-off regarding the presence of MDMA and cannabis, an excise squad led by Thiruvananthapuram Range Inspector S Harikrishnan reached the hostel at 10.15 am. The room was unlocked, and officials discovered cannabis wrapped in paper inside a cupboard. Despite conducting search in eight other rooms, no further contraband was found.
The raid followed a recent altercation between Pandiyaraj and students. On March 29, Pandiyaraj and his friend Madanakumar, a native of Lakshmi Estate, Munnar, were allegedly caught smoking cannabis beedis inside the hostel. A heated argument ensued when other hostel residents questioned Pandiyaraj over unauthorised stay of Madanakumar, a former student.
Later that night, both left the hostel but were detained near the corporation office based on a complaint by students. Police recovered cannabis-laced beedis from them. During questioning, they reportedly admitted to sourcing the drugs from Chenkalchoola, a known drug hotspot in Thiruvananthapuram. Since the quantity was small, they were released on bail.
“The cannabis was found in an unoccupied room. A Tamil native was the former resident, and an investigation is under way to locate him,” said T N Sudheer, Deputy Excise Commissioner.
Meanwhile, allegations surfaced that members of SFI attempted to obstruct the raid. However, the Deputy Commissioner dismissed these claims, stating that SFI had supported the operation. SFI leaders also denied any interference, asserting that they had actually demanded the inspection.
“The claim that this is an ‘SFI hostel’ is completely false. Also, it is unclear whether the seized cannabis belonged to any hostel resident at all,” said SFI district secretary Adarsh.
The search operation was conducted by a team, including Assistant Excise Inspector (Grade) Premanathan, Preventive Officers Binuraj and Jyothilal (Grade), and Civil Excise Officers Biju and Binu Mamachan.
The hostel accommodates students from various colleges affiliated to Kerala University.