Mumbai : Yet another controversy struck IPL tonight when two of its players were believed to have been among the 100 detained in a rave party in a hotel in Juhu here tonight.
Additional Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nagre Patil conducted the raid at Hotel Oakwoods at Juhu and detained about 100 persons, many of them were youngsters, they said. The type of drug used at the party was not immediately known and the raid was still on and those detained have been sent to Cooper hospital for medical examination, they added.
Top police sources said among the two IPL players, one is said to be a foreigner. Both are said to belong to the Pune Warriors team. However, they declined to identify the players, saying their identity could be disclosed only after medical tests are done.
“Approximately 110 grams of cocaine along with MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy, and charas were seized,” Additional Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nagre Patil said on the raid conducted at Hotel Oakwoods in Juhu. He said 58 boys and 38 girls were taken to Cooper hospital for a blood and urine test.
A case will be registered against those who test positive, he said. “We will do a proper investigation into who organised the party and who were the drug peddlers,” Patil said.
Pune Warriors player Rahul Sharma said he was at Oakwoods hotel but at a different party. “I went for a birthday party at Oakwoods hotel in Juhu. I had just reached there but nobody was present. I am right now going to my room.”
Residents living in buildings around the hotel Oakwood Premier, where the police busted a rave party and detained 96 persons, including two IPL players, are relieved after the raid and detentions.
Residents said they had been complaining against these parties for a year without success. They said parties were a regular occurrence at the hotel and most parties were organised for the occupants of the hotel rooms who are usually foreigners.
“Usually, the parties go on till at least 4 in the morning. For the past one year, we have been calling the police control room and complaining against the nuisance, but all our pleas have fallen on deaf years. The party organisers had obviously ‘managed’ the local police on all earlier occasions until the raid on Sunday night,†said a social activist who lives close to the hotel.
Residents also said the hotel overlooks a defence establishment. “The adjoining compound is that of Teevra Chaukas, an army establishment for the Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa areas. It is a high-security wireless station and it is astonishing that a hotel adjacent to the base can pull off such a party,†said a resident.
An employee of the hotel, who did not wish to be named, said, “The party started around 8 pm. Minutes later, the police raided the hotel. Had the police come a little later, more people would have been caught. I do not know about drugs, but parties are conducted here frequently.â€
Another 33-year-old resident of the area said three-and-a-half years ago, another such rave party was busted in the Juhu area, but that did not act as a deterrent.
“These parties are usually called sundown parties as they start after the sun sets and go on till early morning. You do not find peddlers at such parties as most participants bring their own drugs and even sell it sometimes for a quick buck. This raid means all will be quiet here for a few weeks. People will continue with their antics after a while,†he said.
“Even if these participants are found to have consumed drugs, they will be released on a cash bail of Rs. 5,000. For them, it is not a large amount as most of them come from affluent families. I hope the police action drives home a strong message,†the social activist said.