Drug-related death at BITS Goa campus prompts police action

Margao: The death of student Rishi Nair at BITS Pilani Goa campus turned out to be the first drug-related fatality among five student deaths that occurred since Dec 2024, police said on Friday. A Randox test revealed the presence of drugs in Nair’s body.SP (South) Tikam Singh Verma said that investigations are under way to determine how, from where, and when Nair obtained the narcotics. “All angles will be probed,” Verma said. The 19-year-old student was found dead in his hostel on Sep 4.The findings prompted authorities to intensify anti-drug measures across educational institutions in the state. “We have to break the link. We have to stop drugs from entering educational institutions,” Verma said. Police have deployed personnel around schools and colleges while conducting random checks of nearby shops to ensure they don’t have banned substances.“Police have taken all possible steps to prevent drugs from entering all educational institutions,” the SP said, warning of strict action against anyone found supplying narcotics to students.The enhanced security measures include briefing security supervisors on surveillance protocols. “We have also briefed security supervisors on how to beef up surveillance, and to contact police if they notice anything suspicious,” Verma said. “Recently we searched shops around schools and colleges to ensure they don’t stock any banned substances. Such drives will continue,” he added.