The shocking death of a student on Sep tember 4 at BITS Pilani Goa Campus — the fifth in the span of one year — has sparked an uproar among educators and politicians across party lines, after the post-mortem revealed the presence of multiple drugs in his body. Adding to the growing alarm, a reliable source con nected with the investigation alleged that a sixth student, Aakash Gupta (22), had died on February 20, 2024, due to pancreatitis. While drug use was not confirmed in that case, it further highlights the need to scrutinise campus welfare systems and student wellbeing. Reacting to the latest de velopment, Velim MLA Cruz Silva wrote to the Chief Minister urging immediate action to combat what he described as alarming drug abuse within educational institutions. The death of the fifth student on the same cam pus within a year has ex posed the alarming preva lence of drug abuse within educational institutions.
It is widely acknowledged even among students who ab stain that narcotics are easily accessible on campus. The fact that students know where drugs are available, while law enforcement and college authorities remain pas sive, is a grave failure of institutional responsibility. “During Zero Hour in the monsoon session of the Goa Assembly I had raised the issue of e-cigarette usage in schools, a concern also echoed by heads of higher second ary institutions. These warnings demanded immediate and coordinated action,” said Silva. “I request the Chief Minister to direct the Goa Police Department to initiate targeted investigations into drug networks operating in and around educational campuses, mandate compliance audits for all higher education insti tutions under Supreme Court guidelines on student safe ty and substance control, and introduce mandatory drug awareness and mental health programs across schools, col leges, and universities in the State,” Silva added. Meanwhile, Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee President Dr Pratiksha Khalap condemned the government for failing to act despite repeated red flags. “On September 5, I had categorically raised the drug angle in my press conference. The government, however, chose to turn a deaf ear. Today’s findings of the presence of three drugs in the vomit of the student confirms that the threat is real, and it extends beyond just one institution to other colleges as well. What we once spoke of as a menace in society has now penetrated our campuses,” Khalap as serted. “I demand strict scrutiny of all educational campuses across the State including surprise inspections and sting operations at hostels, canteens, vendors and coffee shops in the vicinity of colleges. The act of BITS Pilani administration withholding CCTV footage from parents itself shows that the institution is aware of what is happening inside the hostels but is trying to hide the truth to protect its name. I appeal to the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court to immediately appoint a Judicial Commission and order a thorough investigation into the case,” Khalap said. Prominent educationist and former principal Prabhakar Timble acknowledged that drug culture in elite educational institutions was not new but insisted the spike in fatalities demanded a holistic approach.
“Drug culture in campuses or hostels of IITs and simi lar high-ranking educational institutions is not a new phenomenon. However, deaths are a cause of very grave concern. Though essential, the solution may not come only through policing and punishment. Here, the offender turns into a victim. We will require combined efforts from experts in psy chology, victimology, and other social sciences to address the issue in educational campuses and student hostels,” he said. Former Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson Prof Peter Borges painted a bleak picture of systemic denial and lack of will to confront the growing crisis. “Goa is losing its young generation, not just to drugs but to our collective denial. We have no real understanding of the magnitude of the crisis, and no political will to confront it. Leaders speak endlessly about supply reduction and law enforcement, forgetting that Gen Z is growing up with in creasingly liberal attitudes toward substance use.
Preven tion efforts are almost non-existent, and whatever we do is reduced to token gestures – marathons, competitions, rallies, and big events. Without sustained, science-backed interventions in drug demand reduction, we are merely fire-fighting while the blaze spreads silently through our youth,” Borges said. “This is not just a personal tragedy but a damning indict ment of the growing drug culture in Cortalim, which has now become a hub for narcotics and illegal activities. I de mand immediate formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to thoroughly investigate these incidents, dismantle the drug networks operating in and around educational institutions and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” said Olencio Simoes, Congress leader from Cortalim.