Nothing about the lane outside Medha School in Bowenpally suggests that it should be remembered for anything more than the daily school rush. Located on the northwest fringe of Secunderabad, it is narrow, noisy and deeply ordinary. Auto rickshaws idle impatiently in the mornings, vendors selling stationery and snacks hover near the gate and parents linger long enough to ensure their children disappear safely inside the campus. The school building itself rises without drama, a functional concrete structure that blends seamlessly into a neighbourhood shaped by small businesses, rented houses and steady footfall. Nothing about it hints at secrecy. And that, investigators now believe, was precisely the point.
For nearly nine months, while classes were being taught for classes 1 to 10, parts of this same building were being used to manufacture alprazolam, a psychotropic drug that feeds addiction far beyond the lanes of Bowenpally. The facade finally collapsed on September 13 last year, when officers of Telangana’s Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) raided the premises and uncovered a clandestine drug lab operating within the school.
Inside, police seized 3.4 kilograms of finished alprazolam, 4.3 kilograms of unfinished product and ₹21 lakh in cash. Investigators say the money reflected proceeds from just two days of sales. The accused was identified as Malela Jaya Prakash Goud, 39, a resident of Old Bowenpally and director of Medha School. According to investigators, Goud had been running the operation for months, deliberately using the school as a shield against scrutiny.
