A 38-year-old man died and two others were hospitalised in a serious condition after they consumed beer mixed with diazepam, a sleep-inducing drug, at the Railway quarters here early on Thursday.
Sheen Tharayil, Circle Inspector, Thampanoor, identified the deceased as Murukan, an auto-rickshaw driver who hailed from Neeramankara. Those hospitalised were Murukeshan Pillai, a railway employee, and Kumar, a former railway contractor. They were yet to recover from the effects of the lethal cocktail, investigators said.
Quoting other residents, the police said the duo had been partying at Mr. Pillai quarters since Wednesday night. They found the three lying unconscious in pools of vomit and informed the police. Law enforcers found Murukan dead on the floor and the other two knocked unconscious.
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The police recovered three strips of the drug, each containing 10 tablets, each weighing 10 gm, from the room. They said the three had consumed about 17 pills along with the liquor. The anti-anxiety drug can be sold only to those with a valid prescription containing the professional registration number of the doctor concerned.
They have registered a case of un-natural death and investigations are on.