Juhu rave party organiser gets bail

A special court on Friday granted bail to Vishay Handa, arrested under various sections of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for organising a rave party in a suburban Juhu hotel on May 20.

Special Judge of the NDPS court, I M Bohari, granted bail to Handa on a surety of Rs 5 lakh and asked him to deposit his passport with the police.

As many as 100 people, including Indian Premier League players Wayne Parnell and Rahul Sharma and 19 foreign nationals, were detained by Juhu police after they busted the party at suburban Juhu's Oakwoods Hotel. Of the arrested people, 38 were women.

The patrons were released in the wee hours next day after their blood and urine samples were taken for medical examination.

The police claimed to have seized approximately 110 grams of cocaine along with MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy, and charas from the venue. The drugs were found on the floor, sofa sets and furniture in the hotel.

Handa pleaded for bail on the ground that drugs were not found from his possession. The narcotics were lying on the floor of the premises which was raided by police. The accused said he was not involved in the supply of drugs.        

Handa also pleaded that custodial interrogation was over and hence he should be given bail.

The police, on the other hand, opposed his bail saying that investigations had reached a crucial stage and results of the medical test conducted on the participants of the rave party had not yet been received. Therefore, Handa should not be given bail, they argued.