Pune (Maharashtra) [India], July 27 : The Judicial Magistrate First Class Court has remanded all seven accused in the Pune rave party case to police custody till July 29, said officials.
The accused -- Pranjal Khevalkar, Nikhil Poptani, Sameer Sayyad, Sachin Bhombe, Shreepad Yadav, Isha Singh, and Prachi Sharma -- were taken into custody after a raid at a residential flat in Pune's Kharadi area in the early hours of Saturday. The raid reportedly uncovered narcotics consumption and possession.
According to Pune Police, narcotic substances and other items worth Rs 41.34 lakh were seized. The seized items include cocaine, marijuana (ganja), 10 mobile phones, two four-wheelers, hookah pots, and beer bottles.
Officials added that 100 grams of marijuana and 2.07 grams of cocaine--classified as intermediate quantities were found in possession of the accused.
The police highlighted the need to probe the source and intended recipients of the drugs, and whether the seized substances are part of a larger, organised drug trafficking network.
They also stated that three rooms were booked at Statebird Hospitality between July 24 and 26, and further investigation is needed regarding the premises and additional individuals who reportedly visited and left during the party.
Police further revealed that two of the accused, Pranjal Khevalkar and Shriprakash Yadav, have prior criminal records. They stressed the necessity of custodial interrogation to determine the main conspirators, trace possible interstate gang links, identify drug storage locations, and examine whether the accused have acquired properties through illegal drug money.
The defence counsel, Advocate Sachin Zalte, argued that the accused are being falsely implicated due to their political affiliations and alleged that the case is motivated by political vendetta.
They pointed out that there is no evidence of drug consumption and claimed that the seized quantity falls under the intermediary category, which does not warrant police custody.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "Allegations against all the accused are that they were found in one room, and some drugs like cocaine and ganja have been found in possession of all the accused persons. So they applied the sections of the NDPS Act..."
"The main contention of the advocates is that they have been falsely implicated. One of the accused belongs to a political party. The second contention is that this is an intermediate quantity, and quantities below 2 grams are considered small, which is bailable... 2.7 grams of cocaine have been found in this case... All seven accused have been sent to police custody for the next two days for conducting investigations," he added further.
The court, after hearing both sides, granted police custody for all accused until July 29 to enable further investigation.