Illustration for representation only (Illustration by Satheesh Vellinezhi)

The Kerala Police are reportedly seeking the help of the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT to limit access to violent content, including gory video games downloaded and played online, which they believe are precursors to aggressive behaviour and delinquency among impressionable youngsters and juveniles.

“Viewing violent films or playing viscerally realistic and gruesome video games that normalise murder and mayhem are not necessarily primary predictors of debut crimes. However, they represent a risk factor such as rising synthetic drug abuse, which often manifests in fatal schoolyard and campus brawls, domestic violence and brutal instances of ragging in college hostels”, says a top official.

The recent death of a Class 10 standard student in a schoolyard brawl at Thamarassery in Kozhikode, the multiple murders of members of a family by a young relative at Venjaramoodu and instances of ragging in Government Nursing College in Kottayam and Government Engineering College in Thiruvananthapuram have pushed youth violence and synthetic drug abuse among teenagers to the fore of Kerala’s social debate.

Investigators pointed out that the quantity of MDMA seized in Kerala has steadily increased from 14.969 kg in 2023 to 24.71 kg in 2024. In 2025, up to January 30, the police confiscated 1.70 kg of meth.

Shift in drug use patterns

In contrast, the police noted that the amount of ganja confiscated has remained the same, indicating a shift in drug use patterns favouring synthetic drugs as the narcotic of choice among youth.

The police said narcotic drug-impaired conduct had resulted in two murders in Edachery police station limits in the Kozhikode district and  Koyilandi in Malappuram district in 2024.

In February, the Koduvally in Malappuram had arrested a set of youths for brutalising a person under the influence of meth.

A recent police departmental survey identified 1,377 drug-peddling black spots in 472 police station jurisdictions in the State, with most of them (235) being in Thiruvananthapuram. 

Investigators said the increased trafficking of drugs through well-camouflaged digital platforms on the dark net was an emerging narcotic enforcement challenge. 

In 2022, the Fort Kochi police station in Ernakulam arrested a youth for purchasing LSD stamps using cryptocurrency routed through a bank account in Goa and getting the narcotic couriered to him for street sale. “The detection is just the tip of the iceberg”, he added.