The cannabis seedlings raised by five college students in Coimbatore.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The police have arrested five students of a private college in Coimbatore on the charge of raising cannabis seedlings.

The police seized 24 cannabis plants from the house at Kuniyamuthur, where the students had been residing on rent.

The arrested have been identified as R. Vishnu, 19, A. Anirudh, 19, K. Dhanush, 19, and K. Abhinav Krishna, 19, from Kozhikode district in Kerala and S. Kalaivanan, 21 of Ariyalur district in Tamil Nadu.

According to the police, a team of 50 police personnel carried out a surprise check at houses at Kuniyamuthur and Kovaipudur, which were rented out by their owners to college students, on Saturday night.

The police found 24 ganja seedlings being raised by the five students in their rented house. The students told the police that they planted seeds of cannabis, which they had purchased from peddlers, in an attempt to meet their own demand.

The Kuniyamuthur police registered a case against the five students and arrested them. They were remanded in judicial custody late on Sunday.