Kalamassery Polytechnic suspends 3 students held with ganja in hostel raid, allows to sit for exams

Kochi: The Government Polytechnic College, Kalamassery, on Friday suspended three students who were arrested in a narcotics case. The decision to suspend Akash M (21), Adithyan (20), and Abhiraj R (21), all final year students, was taken by the college’s academic council, which met in the wake of the police action against the students.

“The three students named in the FIR have been suspended pending inquiry. However, they will be allowed to appear for their examinations,” college principal Dr Aiju Thomas told Onmanorama.

"A four-member internal committee has been formed to probe the incident. Further decisions will be taken based on the committee’s report. The panel has been instructed to submit its report within a week," the principal said. The committee comprises the head of the Department of Computer Engineering and three other faculty members.

The classes for the final-year students are scheduled to end on March 21.

Akash, Adithyan and Abhiraj were arrested by the Kalamassery police on Thursday night after a raid in the Periyar Men’s Hostel on the campus. The police seized 2 kg of ganja from the hostel in the raid conducted based on a tip-off.

The police seized 1.909 kg of ganja from Akash's room and 9.7 gm from the others. The three accused have been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The raid was conducted by a team comprising members of the District Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force (DANSAF) and Kalamassery police.

Higher Education Minister R Bindu has also ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident.