Baddi: What began as a police operation to intercept a suspected drug consignment in Baddi took a tragic turn when a young man allegedly swallowed ‘Chitta’ while trying to escape and later died during treatment at a hospital.
The deceased has been identified as Vikram Thakur, a car driver and resident of the Doon area. Police have arrested three other youths who were travelling in the same vehicle and recovered 9.02 grams of ‘Chitta’ from the car.
According to police, they had received information about an expected consignment of ‘Chitta’ arriving in the Baddi area from Haryana. Acting on the information, a checkpoint was established at the Barotiwala toll barrier on Thursday night.
Police said a suspicious car was signalled to stop, but the driver allegedly failed to comply and attempted to flee. During the escape, the vehicle reportedly rammed into a police vehicle before speeding towards Barotiwala Chowk. The car subsequently collided with a truck.
Police claimed that during the attempt to escape, Vikram allegedly swallowed the ‘Chitta’ he was carrying in an effort to prevent its recovery and evade arrest.
Shortly afterwards, his health condition deteriorated. Police rushed him to Baddi Hospital for treatment, where he died during treatment.
Three other occupants of the vehicle — Vikram Singh, Gaurav Kumar and Ashish Mehta — were arrested on the spot, police said. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of 9.02 grams of ‘Chitta’, along with a partially burnt ₹20 note, mobile phones, an electronic weighing scale, a dagger and pieces of aluminium foil.
The three arrested accused were produced before a court and remanded to police custody.
Police have registered a case and started a detailed investigation into the matter. Investigators are probing the source of the recovered drug, the supply network and the possible involvement of other persons connected with the case.
