Sarna had a 'bad trip' after drug party, became violent: Delhi Police

New Delhi: A drug party that went “horribly wrong” resulted in the death of 21-year-old NRI Anmol Sarna as he became violent and showed “abnormal” behaviour on taking hallucinogen LSD and was beaten up by two guards at a South Delhi apartment on Friday night, police said today. Police, which arrested the two guards on murder charges, said the cause of Sarna’s death is “brain haemorrhage” and “shock” due to head injuries by blunt objects but virtually gave a clean chit on allegations of assault to his four friends at the party, against whom fingers were raised by Sarna’s parents.  Surender Bali (40) and Naresh Mishra (60), guards posted at the South Park Apartments, have been arrested under section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code for causing grievous head injuries to Sarna with batons they were carrying with themselves after Sarna creating ruckus at duplex house of his friend Pranil Shah at South Parks Apartments in Kalkaji. Sarna’s four friends, Shivang, Madhav Bhandaru, Rhythm Girhotra and Pranil Shah, all in their 20s have been arrested under section 27 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for consumption of the contraband drug, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr P Karunakaran. Even though the police have booked two guards for murder, the investigator said a panel of doctors from AIIMS will give a final report on Sarna’s injuries and depending on it, police may modify the charges in the charge sheet. “We may drop the murder charge against the two guards. We are investigating the case. Let’s wait for the report by the panel of doctors,” Karunakaran said. On allegations of Sarna’s parents that the four of his friend’s were responsible for their son’s death, the official said investigators did not come across any evidence that they had hit him. Police said about one hour after consuming the drug, allegedly Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), Sarna suffered a “bad trip” and started behaving abnormally. He became violent and started creating ruckus . Sarna not only broke a LCD TV in Shah’s house, where all the five had consumed drugs, but also had scuffle with friends. Soon all of them came out of the room and subsequently, all, except Shah, were turned out of the house by Shah’s parents. Sarna sat outside the duplex house on the second floor and kept on shouting. A neighbour called the two guards, Bali and Mishra, to contain the ruckus. When the guards approached them, Sarna started to run but was eventually taken down by the guards who beat him with their baton leading to injuries in his head, back and other parts of the body, police said, adding he slapped his friends and guards who tried to calm him down. He said Sarna kept behaving abnormally and began running on the road below the flat. While running he banged himself on several cars and hit a closed iron gate. PTI