‘Thrill-seeking experiment’ turns deadly as 18-year-old girl dies of ‘cocktail drug overdose’ in Lucknow

A "thrill-seeking experience" went awry as an 18-year-old girl in the northern Indian city of Lucknow died due to an alleged drug overdose by a friend. The local police said that the male friend took her to a vacant plot in Tiwariganj in Uttar Pradesh's capital and injected her with a mixture of medicine and an addictive drug.

Local reports have mentioned that the incident on April 7 took place when the victim was on the way to catch a train to Bengaluru, where she had a private job. She had reached Lucknow on April 3.

"The accused Vivek Maurya, 28, of Barabanki has been arrested. He was staying at Mahanagar and was friends with the victim," said Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) (Vibhuti Khand) Anindya Vikram Singh.

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The ACP added that an initial first information report (FIR) was filed under IPC Section 302 (murder), however, during the investigation it was converted to IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

The police said that the girl's condition had gotten worse after consuming the "cocktail overdose". Some reports mentioned that the man was also heavily intoxicated.

To get help, the man contacted the emergency control room. The girl was rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. She was declared dead after doctors conducted an ECG. Her body was sent for post-mortem examination.

Police said that the girl's family expressed apprehension and alleged that the drug overdose could have been done deliberately to murder her.

The man claimed that the girl had asked him about the drugs and sought to consume them.

The accused panicked after her death and fled the hospital, but was later arrested.

(With inputs from agencies)