Guards arrested for NRI's death, friends for drugs - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Three days after US-based NRI Anmol Sarna, 20, died in mysterious circumstances after a late-night party where he allegedly consumed LSD, police claimed to have cracked the case and arrested two colony guards on charges of murder. Four of Sarna's friends, with whom he was partying, have also been arrested under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, after they tested positive for drugs.

The arrested guards have been identified as Surender Bali, 46, a resident of Madangir and Naresh Mishra, 60, who lived in Sangam Vihar.

Sarna's friends who have been taken under custody were identified as Shivank Gambhir, a resident of Pamposh Enclave, Ritham Girhrotra from Govindpuri, Madhav Bhandari, a resident of GK-I and Praneel Shah. Shah hosted the farewell party at his flat number 95 in South Park apartments in Kalkaji, southeast Delhi, as Shivank was to leave for London on Saturday.

TOI had reported on Monday that the whodunit revolved around Anmol's four friends, Praneel's father and two guards and that arrests were likely in 24 hours.

Police are now hunting for the Noida man who supplied the LSD - stamps soaked in the psychotropic drug - to the boys. A team is conducting raids on the basis of call records.

On Monday, TOI spoke to the person who witnessed the drama at the apartment and also saw the police take away Anmol. This person, who wishes to remain anonymous, has given a detailed account of what transpired after 11pm on Friday night at the South Park Apartments to the police.

This witness and a former RWA president, quoted earlier by TOI, made one common observation - that Anmol had calmed down after some time and when the police arrived, he went and sat in the PCR without any fuss. The PCR, witnesses say, left the apartment around 12.25am and reached AIIMS after 40 minutes. He was declared 'brought dead'.

The witness said he had returned home around 11.15pm on Friday night after dropping his mother at the railway station. "I informed the guards after hearing a commotion in the lane at the rear. The guards found a man screaming at the staircase. As we went up, the man rushed down even as we tried to stop him. I came in his way and he swung his hand. I ducked but he still managed to hit me on my head and escaped," the man recalled.

"He crossed the rear lane and finally stopped at the turn. I asked the guards to stop him but they could not reach him as he was quite restless and violent. He then hit one of the guards, Mishra, after which they hit him in self-defence. He, however, once again began to run screaming out two names and even banged his head on the gate. He appeared to have no clue what he was doing or what was happening to him," he said.

According to the FIR (a copy is with TOI) a scuffle also took place inside the flat number 95 where Anmol had come for the party. Anmol even had a fight with his friend Praneel - who lived in the flat with his family - and his father.

Anmol allegedly threw things from the kitchen. The house was vandalized and the TV broke as others tried to catch him. His friends and family allegedly shut him in a room hoping he would calm down but he ran out as soon as they opened the door. This was when the guards and the witness TOI spoke to bumped into him.