Man, held by excise dept with contraband, dies of seizure

A man, who was taken into custody by the Excise Department with contraband, died on the way to a station here, allegedly due to a seizure, police said. Ranjith Kumar (35), a resident of Malappuram, was nabbed by an excise team for possessing cannabis from Guruvayur, they said. "While taking Kumar to a station in Thrissur, he showed symptoms of seizure. He died when he was being taken to a hospital," a senior police official of the district told PTI.

Police said they have registered a case of unnatural death. Sources in the police department said the man was a history-sheeter with many 'ganja' (cannabis) cases registered against him.

Most of the cases were for selling and distributing cannabis among the schoolchildren.