Lucknow snacks vendor arrested for selling cannabis-mixed aloo tikki

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A street food vendor in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested for allegedly mixing cannabis in his snacks like aloo tikki and selling them to customers, PTI reported citing officials.

The accused, identified as Pramod Sahu, 42, was held from the suburban Mohanlalganj area of the state capital on Thursday.

The accused ran a small kiosk serving aloo tikki -- a fried potato patty -- and boiled eggs. He secretly laced some portions, including the chutney served alongside, with cannabis for "trusted patrons", and also allegedly sold the drug in packets, police were quoted as saying.

In a separate case the same day in Lucknow, the Nagram police arrested three men accused of supplying cannabis near railway and bus stations, taxi stands and around schools and colleges.

The three accused were identified as Manish Yadav, 26, Dev Ravat, 28, and Jagdeep Yadav, 43. As per the report, they allegedly transported the drug in school bags and sold it in small polythene packets priced between 500 and 1,200 rupees.

The police, as per the report, seized 4.7 kg cannabis from the trio after stopping their e-rickshaw near a canal between Samesi and Karora Bazar. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Mohanlalganj) Rajneesh Verma told PTI that all four accused in both the cases have been arrested.