Pune rave party busted: Drugs, liquor seized; ex-Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse’s son-in-law among 7 detained

PUNE: Former state minister Eknath Khadse’s son-in-law Pranjal Khewalkar and six others, including two women, were arrested after a Pune police team claimed to have busted a house party involving use of high-quality Cocaine, marijuana and hookay pots along with liquor, in the early hours of Sunday in a studio flat at Kharadi off the Pune-Ahmednagar highway.The police later took Khewalkar and others to the Sassoon general hospital for medical test and then to his bungalow at Hadapsar where searches were carried out as part of an investigation to trace the source of drugs. "A laptop, three pen drives and a hard disk were among some articles seized from the bungalow," a police officer said. Khewalkar was then taken to Pune police commissioner’s office for further questioning and was expected to be produced before a city court later in the day.Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told

TOI

on Sunday, "Our crime branch team reached the flat on receiving a tip-off about the party and arrested the seven individuals, including Khewalkar, who were found partying there. The team seized cocaine, marijuana, hookah pots and a large number of liquor bottles from the spot. A bookie is among those arrested.”

Kumar said, "We had received a tip-off about such a party being conducted on the night intervening Friday and Saturday, but the information did not work out.

Once again, on Saturday night, we decided to lay down a trap at the studio flat and this time our team busted the party.”Another police officer, privy to the investigation, told TOI, “Khewalkar and others visited some pubs past midnight but most of them were closed. Eventually, they booked a couple rooms in the studio flat for the party.”Khewalkar is the husband of Rohini Khadse, who is the state women’s wing chief of the NCP (SP), and one of the vocal critics of the saffron alliance govt especially on issues related to safety of women.The police action __ coming as it does against the backdrop of an ongoing exchange of allegations and counter-allegations between Jalgaon political bigwigs, BJP’s state minister for water resources Girish Mahajan and Khadse (a former senior BJP leader who is now with NCP Sharad Pawar faction), over the honey trap controversy and links with key suspect Praful Lodha evoked immediate reaction from leaders across political parties, including Mahajan, Pravin Darekar and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sushma Andare, among others.Mahajan told reporters in Nashik, “A thorough investigation will reveal the facts soon. I came to know about the party and arrests through the media. I haven't spoken to anybody so far, but surely if the son-in-law of Eknath Khadse was found there, then the case is more serious given the facts that Khadse was questioning the findings of drugs by the police only in Jalgaon district."When asked that Khadse had earlier predicted that something like this could happen in the wake of his campaign Mahajan, the latter said, "If he had some idea, then he could have asked his son-in-law to be aware and stay away from such things.

Khadse’s son-in-law is not a kid who will be picked up in the arms and be dropped at such parties, where narcotic substances are allegedly found. He is a major and responsible person.

Call detail records of the accused individuals will clearly point out what has happened.”Another BJP leader Pravin Darekar also questioned the basis for allegations suggesting that Khadse’s son-in-law may have been trapped. “How can this happen.

Is he a small child,” Darekar said.Sena (UBT)’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and senior leader Sushma Andhare slammed the state govt while describing the action as a move to suppress Khadse’s voice in the wake of the honey trap controversy. (With inputs by Abhilash Botekar from Nashik)