The Judicial Magistrate First Class Court has extended police custody for seven individuals arrested in connection with a rave party in Pune.
The accused—Pranjal Khevalkar, Nikhil Poptani, Sameer Sayyad, Sachin Bhombe, Shreepad Yadav, Isha Singh, and Prachi Sharma—were detained after a raid early Saturday at a residential flat in Pune’s Kharadi area.
During the operation, police discovered narcotics along with valuables totaling approximately Rs 41.34 lakh. Confiscated items included cocaine, marijuana (ganja), ten mobile phones, two cars, hookah equipment, and beer bottles.
Authorities confirmed that the accused were found with 100 grams of marijuana and 2.07 grams of cocaine, amounts considered intermediate under the law.
Investigation To Uncover Drug Origins
Officials emphasized the importance of tracing the source of the drugs and identifying who they were meant for, as the substances may be part of a larger trafficking operation. Police also revealed that three rooms had been booked at the Statebird Hospitality hotel between July 24 and 26.
They are investigating visitors who came and left during this period.
Among the accused, Pranjal Khevalkar and Shreepad Yadav have prior criminal records. Police say custodial interrogation is necessary to identify the key players, explore possible links to interstate gangs, locate hidden drug caches, and check for any properties acquired through illegal funds.
Defence Alleges Political Targeting
Advocate Sachin Zalte, representing the accused, claimed that the arrests were politically motivated and that his clients were wrongly implicated. He stated there was no proof of drug consumption and argued that the quantities seized fall under the intermediate category, which typically does not warrant police custody.
Speaking to the press, Zalte 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.”
He added, “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.”
Court Grants Custody Extension To Aid Investigation
After hearing both sides, the court approved the police request to keep all seven accused in custody until July 29 to allow for a thorough investigation.
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