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PRE-DAWN RAID IN HOSTEL
* Complaints from numerous parents over a period of time
* Raid conducted after reliable information from students
* Information received couple of hours before the raid
* Raid conducted between 12.05 am and 3.30 am on Friday night
* Police raid room no G-2, Hostel no 3 on GEC campus
* Raiding party accompanied by two panch witnesses
* College principal intimated on conclusion of the raid
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PANAJI: A joint team of Crime Branch and Anti Narcotics Cell of Goa Police on Friday arrested two students of Goa’s premier engineering institution, Goa Engineering College, for being in possession of marijuana (ganja).
Of the two, one Vishant Gawas (21), resident of Thane-Sattari, is a student of Third Year at GEC and the other, Arun Rathore (18), resident of Zuarinagar, Mormugao, is a First Year student at the college.
The two were roommates and were residents of the college hostel.
While Gawas was found in illegal possession of 303 gms of the substance, Rathore had 18 gms of substance on him at the time of the search. The substance, suspected to be marijuana, is approximately worth Rs 32,000 in the international market and the quantity seized was 'small' and not commercial in nature as per NDPS Act, it was informed.
The narcotics stash attached under panchnama by the raiding party comprising PSI Dinesh Gadekar of ANC, PSI Laxi Amonkar of crime branch and led by PI Dattaguru Sawant of crime branch.
In this connection, an offence has been booked under Section 20 (b) (ii) (A) (possession of small quantity of narcotics) and 29 (criminal conspiracy and abetment) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 by ANC personnel.
As per the Act, the offence is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or both.
The accused have been placed under arrest, in pursuance of all Supreme Court guidelines, and have been remanded to one day police custody by Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ponda.
They are likely to be presented before JMFC, Ponda at 2.30 pm on Saturday.
Superintendent of Police (crime branch and ANC) Kathik Kashyap stated, “Raid is to send a strong message that Goa police will not tolerate any such nefarious activity in the state of Goa more particularly in educational institutions.”
Sources disclosed that complaints about such activities in the hostels on the campus were received over a period of time from numerous parents. Police, however, instituted their own independent sources to verify these inputs and the raid was conducted only upon receiving reliable information from several college students.
ANC personnel informed that the information was received on Thursday night, a couple of hours before the raid was executed.
The narcotics raid itself was conducted between 12.05 am and 3.30 am on Friday night at room no G-2, Hostel no 3 on GEC campus.
The raiding party was accompanied by two panch witnesses and principal of GEC V N Shet was intimated by ANC on conclusion of the raid.
Sources informed that police have resolved to keep a close tab on such activities especially on and around college campuses. In this case, investigations have begun to get to the sources and providers of the narcotic substance on campus.
PSI Gadekar is investigating the matter further.
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College panel to probe
PONDA: Stunned by the arrest of two students on charges of possessing drugs in the college hostel, the Goa Engineering College (GEC) at Farmagudi-Ponda has decided to form an internal committee to probe the matter, besides tightening up security in the premises.
Speaking to The Goan, GEC Principal Dr Vinayak Shet said such an incident had happened for the first time in the campus, but hastened to added that it should not have happened at all.
“This incident in unaccepted. We are taking measures to tighten the security to avoid such incidents in future,” he said.
According to Shet, many outsiders on the pretext of playing on GEC ground enter the campus and then befriend the student community.
“To bar the entry to these outsiders, we will now strictly implement the ID card system. There are some residential quarters here and residents will be provided with ID cards. If their relatives come to visit them, they will have to call them at the gate,” Dr Shet said and added that the college administration will introduce the ID cards system by June.
“Henceforth, rooms in the boys hostel will be checked regularly and they will have to strictly adhere to timings.”
To a question on whether any action would be taken against the students arrested in the case, he said: “We will form an internal committee to probe into the matter.”
“As of now, no action will be taken against them. If they are found guilty during the trial in the court, then definitely action will be taken.”
Sources from GEC informed that the Ponda police had been alerted about the presence and circulation of drugs in the campus, but no action had been taken in the matter.
“I have been informed that GEC had frequently informed Ponda Police about such acts. But the police never turned up in the campus. These students were caught only because the matter was reported to the ANC and Crime Branch,” a gazetted officer on condition of anonymity told The Goan.
