Maharashtra police on Tuesday debunked claims around a viral video showing a man in a disoriented state on the road, saying the person was not under the influence of “zombie drugs.” Police instead revealed that the man had taken an overdose of Pregabalin, a medicine used to treat nerve pain.
On April 15, a video surfaced online showing a man standing in dizzying conditions in the Bhayander area of Maharashtra's Thane city. Claims circulated along with the video said that the man was under the influence of a “zombie drug.”
Taking note of the clip, the crime detection branch was directed to trace the person and verify claims made on social media, news agency PTI reported. During the investigation, police found that the video was recorded at around 10 pm on April 13, and the person seen in the footage was identified as 22-year-old Sameer Rajendra Rawal.
He is a labourer “hailing from Achham district in Nepal and currently living on a footpath outside Borivali Railway Station in Mumbai,” news agency PTI quoted the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar police as saying in a release.
Why was the man in a dizzy state
Police traced the man to a road in Bhayander on April 17. During interrogation, the man revealed that he came from Nepal last month in search of work and had been addicted to consuming Pregabalin tablets for the last two years, the release said.
Pregabalin is a medicine used to treat epilepsy, anxiety or nerve pain.
"He informed that he used to purchase a strip of 10 tablets for ₹100 and consume them for intoxication," police reportedly said.
The man took five pills at once
According to the police, the man procured the tablets from a medical shop in Navghar without any prescription.
On April 13, he reportedly took five Pregabalin tablets at once. Later, while walking in the Bhayander area, he felt dizzy and became unable to move, leaving him standing in one spot, police said.
Police denied the involvement of “zombie drug” and said that the incident occurred due to the excessive consumption of Pregabalin, which is a Schedule-H drug used for nerve pain.
A team, along with officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), inspected the medical shop from where the tablets were procured and found that the shopkeeper had left the area after the video went viral.
Police said a report has been submitted to the FDA in Thane for necessary action against the shopkeeper for allegedly supplying Schedule-H drugs without a valid prescription.
A similar incident took place in Bengaluru, where a man was seen standing motionless, triggering social media claims of the influence of “Zombie drug.” Police later shut down the claims, adding that the person was immediately subjected to a detailed medical examination.
