A hotel co-owner in Kullu has been arrested for allegedly obstructing an LSD drug investigation by destroying crucial evidence, including CCTV footage.
The co-owner of a hotel in Kullu district has been arrested for alleged criminal conspiracy after he destroyed crucial evidence in a case related to an LSD racket here, police said.
The arrested accused has been identified as Sanjeev Kumar (35), a resident of Bashona village in Bhuntar tehsil of Kullu district. He is the co-owner of Sea Rock Hotel in Bhuntar, they said.
Police said the accused had deleted CCTV footage and the contents of a hard disk related to the case, which were obtained from his hotel.
Senior Superintendent of Police in Shimla said that the accused has been linked to a case registered on March 10, in which two persons, including a woman, were arrested with 562 strips of LSD.
"During the investigation, police found that the main supplier of the contraband was Naviel Harrison, a Kerala resident who was arrested in Haryana's Gurugram. As the investigation proceeded, investigators unearthed the involvement of four Special Task Force personnel of the Himachal Pradesh Police, who were also arrested," he said.
Police found that the STF personnel had allegedly procured the LSD from Naviel at the Sea Rock Hotel, the SSP said.
"To verify the sequence of events, police had seized the DVR and hard disk from the hotel premises and sent them for forensic examination. However, investigators found that the CCTV footage and other data stored in the hard disk had already been deleted, allegedly by Sanjeev Kumar in connivance with the other accused," he said.
"Acting upon the findings, police have now arrested the accused and further investigation is underway," the SSP added.