25 Symbiosis College students, 6 Osmania Hospital docs caught consuming ganja: TGNAB

Hyderabad: Telangana Anti Narcotic Bureau (TGANB), along with Karkhana police caught 25 students of Symbiosis College for consuming OG (ocean-grown) weed.

TGANB director Sandeep Shandilya said counseling sessions for these students and their parents are being conducted to address the issue and prevent future recurrence.

He said that six junior doctors of Osmania General Hospital were caught consuming weed. As many as 15 students of Guru Nanak Engineering College were caught consuming ganja, he said.

At Culinary Academy of India, four students tested positive for ganja, while one student of Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology tested positive for ganja, three students of IIIT Basara were caught consuming ganja, three individuals were caught consuming ganja at JNTU Jogipet and a youth was apprehended at NIT Trichy due to drug abuse, he added.

“Telangana Police and TGANB) has been steadfast in its mission to curb drug abuse and maintain public safety through a series of strategic operations and continuous surveillance. Over the past few months, the multifaceted approach that combines technical intelligence (Techint) and human intelligence (HUMINT) has produced notable results and instilled a genuine sense of fear among drug dealers,” the TGANB director said.

He added that the TGANB is also closely collaborating with college and university administrations and regularly patrolling campuses to look for signs of drug usage.

Continuous surveillance and successful operations:

Drug-Free Educational Institutions:

Elaborating, Sandeep Shandilya said, “Our top goal is to guarantee a drug-free atmosphere in institutions and schools. To collect and respond to information on drug usage at educational institutions, the TGANB has dispatched officers. In partnership with the government, we have started awareness campaigns that target parents and students and feature well-known individuals like PV Sindhu, Suman, and Chiranjeevi.”

School Inspections:

In-depth inspections of schools and their grounds have been made possible by coordinated operations involving unit officers and Narcotic Detection Dogs. “As required by the Juvenile Justice Act and the COPTA Act, we are sternly implementing COPTA regulations and reserving spots for businesses that sell tobacco products within 100 meters of schools,” he said.

Sandeep Shandilya said that anti-drug committees (ADCs) in all institutions, ADCs, are pivotal in reporting drug abuse. The ADCs are expected to be vigilant, providing timely information about any drug-related activities within their institutions and surroundings, thereby acting as the first line of defence against drug abuse.

E-Cigarette Sales

Sandeep Shandilya also said that two persons identified as Ahmed and Jaffar were apprehended for selling e-cigarettes to students under code names. Students from Indus School and CBIT were identified as consumers. This highlights the pervasive issue of illegal e-cigarette sales targeting young students, he added.

Pub regulations and management accountability:

Pubs under watch:

The TGANB Director said that they had focused on areas with high levels of drug activity through persistent monitoring and intelligence gathering. The officials' actionable intelligence was instrumental in the recent arrest of three drug addicts at Artistry Pub, Novotel HICC.

Major raid at CAVE Pub:

Prolonged monitoring resulted in a triumphant incursion into the hallucinogenic celebration, "Forest Alchemy," held at CAVE Pub. As many as 52 participants were evaluated, and 33 of them tested positive for mixtures of MDMA, ganja, and cocaine. This underscores the widespread problem of drug use in social contexts, he said.

The TGANB director said that despite pubs displaying signs prohibiting liquor sales to individuals under 21, enforcement remains weak. Pub management often displays little to no interest in ensuring compliance. TGANB has issued strict instructions to unit officers to verify age using Aadhar cards during inspections. Pubs must take responsibility and enforce these regulations to prevent underage drinking. “We also have gathered a lot of information about DJs who visit Hyderabad,” he said.

Sandeep Shandilya also said that elite institutions need to be more vigilant and take preventative action against drug usage. He recommended that parents be warned against excessive spending and that everyone involved in the situation shoulder some of the responsibility for keeping the area drug-free.