Four persons were arrested today in connection with the mysterious death of an 18-year-old girl, who died after consuming gutkha allegedly laced with some poisonous substance, police said.
The gutkha was offered to deceased Puja Vankhede by a youth identified as Sagar when she was washing clothes near a pond in Kothibazar area on April 8, they said.
Immediately after consuming the gutkha she fell sick and later she was rushed to the district hospital same day by her parents where she succumbed in the evening.
In her statement to the police, she alleged that Sagar along with his four associates gave her gutkha which was laced with some poison.
The cause behind offering the substance is not yet known, police said.
Though police have registered a case in this regard it was not taking any action against them despite the victim's family and other acquaintances protesting on the issue since April 9 and creating ruckus before the Kotwali Police Station yesterday.
The family alleged that the policemen instead of taking action in the matter have started beating them mercilessly and bundled them in a lockup.
When local media highlighted the issue, police acted swiftly in the matter and arrested four accused identified as Sagar, Nandu, Makku and Suraj alias Durgesh. The fifth accused is absconding.
However, police denied that it "misbehaved" with the victim's family.
Police have now registered a case of murder in this regard and launched a hunt to nab the fifth accused identified as Sonu.
