Forty students were expelled from the police academy after “investigations by the security forces and the national security proved that they belong to the Muslim Brotherhood,” said interior ministry spokesperson Hani Abdel-Latif on Tuesday.

According to Abdel-Latif the investigations proved the expelled students had first and second degree relatives who belonged to the now banned group who were also involved in violence against the police during Brotherhood protests against the government.

The students, who are in the third and fourth years in the police academy, are no longer qualified to join the police ranks and accordingly they were dismissed, Abdel-Latif told Al-Ahram Arabic news website.

Until the toppling of long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 11 February 2011, Muslim Brotherhood members or their relatives could not join the police academy, however the years that followed Mubarak’s ouster witnessed the opening of the academy doors to them. It is believed that flocks of members joined the academy in 2012 and 2013 before the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who belongs to the same group.

"We will investigate all those who joined the academy during these years and anyone who belongs to the group or was engaged in their violent acts will be expelled," Abdel-Latif said.

Hundreds of students were expelled from universities around Egypt for participating in violent clashes with the police on campus or for organising protests. Most of these students belong to the Muslim Brotherhood. Some academics also lost their jobs for the same reason.