School students mistakenly step into Excise office in Kerala to light ganja beedi, caught
Idukki (Kerala), Oct 23: Excise officers in this district were in for a rude shock when a group of school students entered their office accidentally and requested for a matchbox to light a beedi rolled with ganja.
The incident occurred in Adimali in the high range district on Monday, where students of an aided school in Thrissur arrived as part of their school excursion with teachers.
They entered the local excise office to get the matchbox mistaking it to be a workshop.
Immediatley, excise sleuths caught the higher secondary students red-handed and seized banned substances like ganja, hashish oil, and articles to fill the contrabands from them.
A case was also registered against two minor students who were found carrying the banned substances.
After having food at a hotel, a group of students stepped out to smoke ganja beedi and wanted a matchbox to light it.
A senior excise officer said they saw the rear of the excise office here and mistook it for a workshop and asked a matchbox.
"When they saw the officers suddenly, they sensed danger and ran out. But, all of them were caught. When we carried out a check, banned substances were recovered," he told PTI.
A case was registered under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, against two students from whom the substances were seized.
All students were given counselling.
"The rest of the students were sent back with their teachers. But, in the case of those two students, parents were summoned and sent them along with them only," he said.
According to officials, drug abuse was rampant during school and college excursions in the state.
"In this particular case, students were said to have pooled money to buy the substance from some drug peddlers," he said.
The department decided to go ahead with legal proceedings against the students, he added.
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Noida airport to begin ops next month with IndiGo flights to Lucknow, Bengaluru
Noida (PTI): IndiGo on Thursday announced that it will start commercial flight operations from the Noida International Airport in Jewar from June 15, becoming the launch carrier for the greenfield airport in western Uttar Pradesh.
The first day flights will be to and fro Lucknow and Bengaluru, the airline said in a statement.
Noida International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.
IndiGo said it will be the first carrier to start commercial services from the airport, the third in the National Capital Region (NCR).
According to the airline, inaugural flights on June 15 will operate on the Lucknow-Noida-Bengaluru-Noida-Lucknow sector.
As per the announced schedule, flight 6E 2278 will depart from Lucknow at 7.05 am and arrive in Noida at 8.05 am before departing for Bengaluru at 8.35 am and landing there at 11.05 am.
The return flight, 6E 2279, will leave Bengaluru at 3.45 pm and reach Noida at 6.20 pm before departing for Lucknow at 6.55 pm and arriving there at 8 pm.
IndiGo said it will gradually introduce direct flights connecting Noida International Airport to more than 16 destinations across the country, including metro cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad, besides tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Jaipur, Lucknow, Navi Mumbai, Pantnagar and Srinagar.
The airline said bookings for the flights are being opened in phases through its website, mobile application and authorised travel partners.
Aloke Singh, Chief Strategy Officer of IndiGo, said the airline was pleased to announce the launch of operations from Noida International Airport.
"Strategically positioned on the Yamuna Expressway, Noida International Airport will be the new gateway for western Uttar Pradesh alongside the NCR. As we continue to expand our operations, we remain committed to delivering affordable, on-time and hassle-free travel experiences," Singh said.
IndiGo said the airport is expected to emerge as a major domestic aviation hub and will strengthen connectivity between Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh through integrated road and rail infrastructure.
