Idukki: It was an embarrassing moment for a group of school children when they wandered into an excise office by mistake asking for a matchbox to light a beedi rolled with ganja and later realizing that it was an excise office. The children were part of an excursion from Thrissur.
A senior excise official who spoke on the incident said that the ‘request’ for the matchbox and later when they was aware it was an excise official not just embarrassed the children, but also the officials present at the office.
“Hi brother do you have a matchbox was what one of them asked to our official who was present at the office”, said the excise official.
The students, part of a school group from Thrissur on their way to Munnar for a class excursion, were caught off guard by the uniformed officials inside the office. When they realized it was a government excise office they attempted to flee but were intercepted by the team led by Circle Inspector Ragesh B Chirayath. Upon inspection, the officials recovered 5 grams of ganja from one student and a gram of hashish oil from another.
Kids were provided counselling
After intercepting the students, the Excise officers immediately notified the teachers accompanying the excursion. The children were subjected to counselling, and their parents were called in. A case has been registered against the students found in possession of the narcotics.
According to the officials, the children who were below the age of 16 had mistakenly thought the Excise Office was a workshop. They discretely approached it after spotting several vehicles parked in the backyard, seized in various cases, without noticing the signboard identifying it as the Excise office. The students missed the signboard because it was out of their view at the front of the office. Excise officials later spoke to the students and educated them on the seriousness of the matter.
