Image used for representational purpose only. File Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Following the recent arrest of four youngsters for collecting hallucinogenic mushrooms from the reserve forests in The Nilgiris, the district police and the forest department are to conduct joint patrols in areas surrounding forest areas to prevent people from collecting the substances. According to police, Akash, a 20-year-old youth from Bombay Castle in The Nilgiris, as well as his friends from Coimbatore, Immanuel (19), Dhanush (21) and Harish (20), had trespassed into a reserve forest near Finger Post in Udhagamandalam and are said to have been collecting a species of mushroom known commonly as fly agaric, a known hallucinogenic mushroom that grows under particular species of trees following spells of heavy rain. Police said that in 2024, Akash and his girlfriend had consumed alcohol and the mushroom, leading to his girlfriend’s death. Police had arrested Akash and sent him to judicial custody. However, Akash is said to have come out on bail later and was studying in Coimbatore where he became friends with the …