Calling upon students to stay away from the menace of drugs, Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan on Sunday said that it was “very painful” for him to read about the death of a college student in Coimbatore, who was killed after he passed on information about the prevalence of drugs, and further said he felt as if he had lost someone in his family.

In his address during the 22nd convocation of the SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, the Vice-President said: “I also urge all of you to always stay away from the menace of drugs and all forms of substance abuse. We should not get controlled by an external force, rather our mind should get controlled by ourselves.” New graduates were also administered an ‘anti-drug’ pledge during the convocation.