Kochi: The two former students of Government Polytechnic College, Kalamassery, who were arrested in a narcotics case on Saturday, were forced out of their studies due to attendance shortage, but they kept coming back to the campus to allegedly peddle ganja. 

Ashique (20) of Edayappuram, Aluva and Shalik K S (21) of Purayam, Aluva, were among the nearly 15 students who could not continue their studies due to their failure to meet the institution’s academic criteria. They were sent out of the fourth semester of Automobile Engineering last year as they did not have the required attendance to sit for the examinations, sources in the college and police said.

Such students are marked as ‘semester out’ and they have the option to get re-enrol for the programme when the same semester starts again. It is up to the academic council of the college to decide whether a student should be readmitted or not. The council takes the decision based on the recommendation of an internal committee processing the admissions. 

It is not clear if Ashique and Shalik had sought readmission. However, they used to frequent the campus and hostel even when they were out of the semester. “There were no restrictions for them to enter campus and hostel,” a police officer told Onmanorama.

The officer said they used to peddle small quantities of ganja among the students. However, it was the first time they brought a huge quantity of the illegal substance to the hostel, the officer said. The duo were arrested on Saturday as the police probed the source of the 2 kg of ganja they seized from the Periyar Men’s Hostel on the campus and arrested three students.

Police sources said Ashique and Shalik have not revealed from where they sourced the cannabis to be sold among the students. “They have mentioned some names, but we are yet to verify them,” the officer said. They told the police that they charged various prices for the substance from students as per demand.

Though it has not been confirmed whether Shalik had sought readmission or not, a faculty member said it was unlikely for him to get another chance due to his track record on campus. During the Christmas celebrations in December, he had created a ruckus on the campus and had to be forced out by the police. He had tried to enter the campus, breaching the restrictions put in place to prevent outsiders, including ‘semester out’ students, from attending the celebrations. When blocked at the gate, he got agitated and even got angry at teachers. The college authorities had to seek the help of police to remove him from the campus.