Jhansi: Eight people, including a police constable, have been arrested in connection with the death of a 21-year-old alleged drug peddler in Prem Nagar, with police investigating whether the accused had been using a self-styled anti-crime group as a front to extort money from people involved in drug-related activities.The arrests followed an investigation into the September 13 death of Parvez Ali, whose body was found in the Nagara Haat area with bruises and bite marks. The death was initially treated as accidental, but a post-mortem examination revealed injuries, following which police registered a murder case on a complaint filed by his father Ahsan Ali.Police said Parvez had left his house at night, telling his family that he would return shortly. Around 1 am, his family was informed that he had been found injured and taken to Jhansi medical college, where he died.The arrested accused have been identified as Priyanshu Soni (30), Jai Srivastava alias Aman (24), Sahil Mishra (21), Bhupendra Vanshkar (23), Yash Shivhare alias Bittu (23), Ashiqil Khan (20), Shani Namdev (24) and constable Ashish Singh (30). Police have also seized a red Maruti Suzuki Ignis, a Ford EcoSport, a Maruti Suzuki S-Cross and seven mobile phones.SSP Vikas Kumar said the investigators found that Parvez, who allegedly had a previous drug-related case in Jammu and Kashmir, was in contact with Sahil Mishra over drug supply.According to police, Parvez was called on the pretext of showing a drug sample and taken towards Prem Nagar in a vehicle. Investigators suspect the group intended to detain and threaten him with police action to extort money.
