The US-based young NRI student, who was found in a critical condition in Kalkaji here last week, succumbed due to excessive loss of blood from self-inflicted injuries and the thrashing given by two private security guards after he created ruckus inside the apartment complex under the influence of drugs, the police said on Tuesday. While the security guards have been arrested for assaulting the student, the police have also arrested his four friends for consuming drugs.
A profusely bleeding Anmol Sarna was found inside the South Park Apartments flat around midnight on September 13. A Police Control Room van took him to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences where he succumbed to his injuries an hour later. The police registered a murder case following allegations by his relatives that he had been killed.
Police investigations revealed that on the fateful day, Anmol and his friends -- Shivang (20), Madhav (20) and Rhythm (20) -- had gathered at the residence of their common friend Pranil (20) for a party. “It was learnt that the boys had been planning to consume drugs for the past few days. Madhav told them that he could arrange it from a contact in Noida. On September 11, Madhav, Anmol and Shivang bought five doses of drugs, for which all the five had pooled in money. They planned a party at Pranil’s house on September 13,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Karunakaran.
According to the police, the five friends consumed drugs in Pranil’s bedroom around 9 p.m. and around midnight when they were on a high, Anmol allegedly started screaming and turned violent, smashing an LCD television set and damaged some other articles. His friends panicked and rushed out of the bedroom. Hearing the commotion, Pranil’s parents stepped in and asked his friends to leave immediately.
While Shivang, Madhav and Rhythm left the premises on foot and were later picked up by Shivang’s father in an inebriated state, Anmol sat outside the duplex house on the second-floor and kept screaming. A neighbour then called the night watchmen, Surender Bali (46) and Naresh Mishra (60).
“When the guards approached him, Anmol pushed them away and ran downstairs. The guards chased him down and beat him with batons causing injuries on his head, back and buttocks. Anmol, who had been behaving abnormally, ran around banging himself against the cars parked in the area. He also rammed a closed iron gate head-on,” said Dr. Karunakaran.
Eyewitnesses told the police that Anmol kept running around, falling down several times. All this while, Pranil stayed inside his house. “Pranil’s father, K. D. Shah, called up the PCR that reached the spot at 12-20 a.m. on September 14. Anmol, who was bleeding profusely, had calmed down by then. He was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead by the doctors at 1-45 a.m.,” said the police officer.
The police said the post-mortem examination revealed baton injuries on different parts of the body. “Based on the findings, we have arrested Surender and Naresh for assaulting Anmol. The batons used in the assault have been seized. Shivang, Madhav, Rhythm and Pranil have been arrested under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for alleged consumption of drugs,” the officer added.
Raising doubts over the police theory, Anmol’s father alleged that his friends were involved and that they were being let off by the police. Stating that he had asked his son several times to stay away from them, he said his son had never shown any behaviour suggesting that he was on drugs.
