Pimpri-Chinchwad: A man lost his life while attempting to prove himself an ‘elite drunkard’ after consuming alcohol directly from a bottle in a single gulp, allegedly as part of what the police described as a foolish bet. His friends, who had given him a so-called ‘friendly challenge’, abandoned him after he fell ill due to excessive drinking.
The incident happened on 30th December on a farm in Navlakh Umbre village of Maval Tehsil.
The deceased has been identified as Ram Kumar Saah (35, Maval). Talegaon MIDC Police have registered a case against his friends, Krishna Singh (35) and Vikas Kumar. The deceased and the accused were friends; all of them were labourers and natives of Bihar.
Charges include BNS sections 105 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), and 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
According to police reports, the three friends had a drinking session on 30th December, where they all got drunk. After getting drunk, the accused allegedly asked the deceased to gulp down 750 ml of country-made liquor in a single take.
Police said the accused offered him double the money of what they owed him for the bottle. The deceased did this out of the best and soon started feeling sick. His complaints of his health were ignored by his friends.
When the accused woke up the next morning, they found their friend dead. They took him to a nearby farm, kept him there and absconded. Due to foul odour, on Wednesday, police were summoned by locals, and a case was registered at night.
On Thursday morning, the accused Krishna Singh was detained, and when presented in court, he was given five-day police custody. The hunt for the other accused continues, said the police. Police Sub Inspector Prashant Relekar is investigating the matter further.
