The misunderstandingEven as the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) said that a report on blood samples supposedly taken from 100 revellers of a March 8 party was sent to the police, the police denied receiving any report.
Police had raided and arrested the revellers from an alleged rave party organised at a Puttaiahanapalya farmhouse near the Big Banyan Tree in Ramanagaram, located about 35 kilometres from Bangalore. According to Dr BM Mohan, director of the FSL, the report was sent to the superintendent of police (SP) at Ramanagaram three days ago.
He said the FSL conducted tests to find 20 different types of banned substances and
alcohol in the blood samples provided.
SB Bisenahalli, the SP, however, said he had not received the report. “The FSL authorities are lying. No report on the blood samples acquiredhas been submitted yet. This is affecting the investigation," he said.
No drug trace“The test shows no trace of any drugs, and even the alcohol content is just 5%," Dr Mohan said.
Dr Mohan had earlier sent a letter to the SP questioning the police’s stand on getting blood samples tested for drug abuse. His letter also pointed out that according to Section 36 of the Karnataka Excise Act, under which the revellers were arrested, the FSL had no legal right to test the samples as the provision does not relate to the consumer of alcohol. The section deals with the person licenced to organise the party, the letter had said.
Police replyBisenahalli said the police clarified their stand in their reply. “The reply was sent to them within two days after we had received their letter. We don’t have to explain much. We replied stating that he (Dr Mohan) has to co-operate and provide any report the investigating officer requires as part of his investigation."
Earlier, the FSL had said that the blood samples were delivered six days late. Ramanagaram police explained that the collecting the blood samples was a cumbersome job for the government hospital as they were dealing with a large crowd.
The processThe blood samples are collected by local government hospital or health centre. The samples are then taken personally by police personnel and delivered at FSL. This is entered in a register maintained by the FSL.
After forensic tests are conducted by the laboratory, the reports are collected
by police personnel from a particular station (in this case, the Ramanagaram police station). This also has to be entered into the register and signed by the receiver, quoting his number and position in the police station.
Should’ve done DATHowever, experts opine that the youths should have been subjected to simple urine tests, for instantaneous results.
Lawrence Simons, project manager, Chemical Dependency Wing, Freedom Foundation, said the simplest test to detect narcotic substances in the blood is the urine test. "Termed as Drug Analysis Test (DAT), it is the simplest one as it takes only 45 minutes for a result."
But there is no hope for that now. "The test has to be conducted within 48 hours of drug consumption,” he said.
Fake names and influential people
Nearly 50 percent of the youths taken into custody had given fake names while they were being interrogated. “The real names came out only when their advocates applied for the bail. There are several influential names and we have not yet started investigation in those lines," said Devaraju, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ramanagaram.
Ramanagaram police had also seized 23 cars from the Padma farmhouse. Though the investigating officers could have checked who the cars belonged to, they didn’t want to
“take any chances.”
An investigating officer said, “No, it’s true that we didn’t check much into the cars. We knew many influential people were involved in the case, and we did not want to get into
any problems."
Police had raided and arrested the revellers from an alleged rave party organised at a Puttaiahanapalya farmhouse near the Big Banyan Tree in Ramanagaram, located about 35 kilometres from Bangalore. According to Dr BM Mohan, director of the FSL, the report was sent to the superintendent of police (SP) at Ramanagaram three days ago.
He said the FSL conducted tests to find 20 different types of banned substances and
alcohol in the blood samples provided.
SB Bisenahalli, the SP, however, said he had not received the report. “The FSL authorities are lying. No report on the blood samples acquiredhas been submitted yet. This is affecting the investigation," he said.
No drug trace“The test shows no trace of any drugs, and even the alcohol content is just 5%," Dr Mohan said.
Dr Mohan had earlier sent a letter to the SP questioning the police’s stand on getting blood samples tested for drug abuse. His letter also pointed out that according to Section 36 of the Karnataka Excise Act, under which the revellers were arrested, the FSL had no legal right to test the samples as the provision does not relate to the consumer of alcohol. The section deals with the person licenced to organise the party, the letter had said.
Police replyBisenahalli said the police clarified their stand in their reply. “The reply was sent to them within two days after we had received their letter. We don’t have to explain much. We replied stating that he (Dr Mohan) has to co-operate and provide any report the investigating officer requires as part of his investigation."
Earlier, the FSL had said that the blood samples were delivered six days late. Ramanagaram police explained that the collecting the blood samples was a cumbersome job for the government hospital as they were dealing with a large crowd.
The processThe blood samples are collected by local government hospital or health centre. The samples are then taken personally by police personnel and delivered at FSL. This is entered in a register maintained by the FSL.
After forensic tests are conducted by the laboratory, the reports are collected
by police personnel from a particular station (in this case, the Ramanagaram police station). This also has to be entered into the register and signed by the receiver, quoting his number and position in the police station.
Should’ve done DATHowever, experts opine that the youths should have been subjected to simple urine tests, for instantaneous results.
Lawrence Simons, project manager, Chemical Dependency Wing, Freedom Foundation, said the simplest test to detect narcotic substances in the blood is the urine test. "Termed as Drug Analysis Test (DAT), it is the simplest one as it takes only 45 minutes for a result."
But there is no hope for that now. "The test has to be conducted within 48 hours of drug consumption,” he said.
Fake names and influential people
Nearly 50 percent of the youths taken into custody had given fake names while they were being interrogated. “The real names came out only when their advocates applied for the bail. There are several influential names and we have not yet started investigation in those lines," said Devaraju, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ramanagaram.
Ramanagaram police had also seized 23 cars from the Padma farmhouse. Though the investigating officers could have checked who the cars belonged to, they didn’t want to
“take any chances.”
An investigating officer said, “No, it’s true that we didn’t check much into the cars. We knew many influential people were involved in the case, and we did not want to get into
any problems."
Mumbai needs a pied piper. Its youth is in a crisis. Recently, the findings of a study conducted by the psychiatry department at the KEM hospital in Mumbai were reported. Interviewing nearly 100 youngsters booked in the Juhu rave party case almost a year ago, the study concluded that the youngsters think smoking marijuana is safe and there is no real harm in doing drugs.
I don't know whether smoking weed causes psychosis or not, but I know for sure that busting a rave and arresting youngsters and then subjecting them to psychological surveys that support a certain political agenda is a dangerous practice that needs be questioned and mocked.
For anyone vaguely familiar with popular drug culture, the busting of a rave party by the police has become such a common and oft repeated joke that it's no longer funny.
It's a joke because there is nothing that a rave bust does to credibly curb either the trade in narcotics or bring down the rapid adoption of a drug lifestyle by a section of the younger people.
Everyday more and more young people are buying weed across the city. More and more youngsters are popping the pills and hoping to create a music album while tripping on LSD. They watch films that don't exactly highlight the side effects of doing drugs unless it's 'Requiem for a Dream' which in my opinion is more about America than about drugs.
Shops openly sell T-shirts that promote marijuana usage and it's not difficult to imagine someone somewhere trying very hard to roll their first joint.
The joke's no longer funny because the police's modus operandi has become extremely repetitive even by police standards.
Since the narcotics control bureau's Delhi office busted a rave party in 2003 at a farmhouse on the outskirts of the capital, the algorithm for a successful bust was repeated by the Pune police in 2006 and respectfully adhered to by the Mumbai Police last year when they busted a rave at a nightclub in Juhu.
One more rave bust anywhere in the country and the following will become part of the police-training manual.
Rave bust algorithm
Step one: Find out where the next rave is happening. If your regular intelligence network fails, ask your colleague's son or daughter and they will find out for you through Facebook.
Step two: Land up at the rave right when the party is peaking and announce your presence.
Step three: Realise that the music is too loud for anyone to pay attention. (This is the most important step. You skip it and the IB will think the cops are regular at rave parties)
Step four: Head for the DJ's console. Let the gentleman to be the boss for two minutes. Allow him to say "Uncle you are at the wrong place". This will set the tone for step five.
Step five: Give the DJ two tight slaps and watch him cry like a paranoid baby. Shut down the music and arrest everyone present.
Step six: Hold a press conference the next day announcing that a handful of peddlers and nearly two hundred drug users were arrested. Make special mention of the fact that most of youngsters caught had rich parents.
Step seven: Go home and let the idiot box do the talking. Enjoy! This is your moment. If you don't get your kicks, hang on for six months to a year and repeat the cycle from step number one.
Game for some good press
Compared to the police's style of committing criminal encounters, busting a rave party is by far a boring business. But like most boring things it has its benefits. The media can raise questions about an encounter. It can allege, without any proof whatsoever, that the police had picked up the dead criminals a few days earlier and bumped them off later.
But no one in their right mind, for obvious reasons, can claim that the police covertly organised the rave party and then raided it to earn medals and promotions.
So, while a risky proposition like an encounter can lead to suspension (if proved fake) or medals and out-of-turn promotions (if they are genuine) a boring idea like busting a rave doesn't have such dramatic endings. A rave bust usually leads to positive publicity for the cops who did it and a serious envy among their peers who thought the idea was too boring.
It also gives the general public --- a group scientifically proven to have a short short-term memory --- an idea that something really serious is being done about the entire business of drugs trafficking.
Questions no one is asking
Following the rave party bust in Mumbai certain startling facts came to light. The police claimed that youngsters arrested and duly tested for drug consumption were doing new substances like LSD and ecstasy besides the usual suspects like charas and ganja.
Now, either the Mumbai Police officials are way too dumb or they were born yesterday because none of these substances are new in any way.
LSD is by far the oldest synthetic psychedelic known to man and according to many experts fuelled the hippie movement in the 1960s and most of the music of the Grateful Dead.
It was invented in the 1940s and by the 1960s it had reached young people all over the world including India. When its creator Dr Robert Hoffman died last year most national newspapers carried huge articles about him and LSD, his problem child.
Verifiable accounts by reformed drug addicts of the 70s like Mahesh Bhatt bear testimony to their prolonged use of LSD and other drugs. Clearly either the Mumbai Police doesn't have its facts right or is plainly bluffing.
As far as ecstasy is concerned the pill has been around for more than a decade in India and cannot be called new by any stretch of imagination. That leaves charas and ganja, two versions of marijuana that were completely legal for consumption in India before the Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances act was promulgated in 1986 by the Indian state. If none of this is new then what's the fuss about?
Now we're warming up to the real question.
If all these banned substances aren't new then someone must be trading in them big time and making a killing? Who are the top five drug lords of India that take care of the supply, distribution and procurement of these illegal drugs?
No one knows; at least not the police. And the worst part is that none of the drug peddlers arrested regularly by the police have any clue either. They are way too low in the supply chain to have an idea of who is their boss.
In a city where an auto driver knows the local drug peddler and the local pimp and can take you there without a commission, the arrests of drug users and peddlers from a nightclub may be legally justified but on every other count it is a serious eye wash.
An Impossible scenario
Here's an imaginary scenario that is impossible for all practical purposes. Mumbai police gets serious about drug trafficking and chooses not to make vague arrests to get cheap thrills and publicity.
The crime branch chief makes a crack team. They decide to act on a rave party happening in a popular nightclub in the city.
Instead of busting the rave, the crack team acquires invitations to the event and lands up in attire that doesn't raise any eyebrows.
Grooving to the music the team gets friendly with both the peddlers and the drug users to work their way up the drug supply chain.
They buy a large quantity of various illicit substances drugs from the peddlers and take their numbers for further use. Additionally, they also befriend a number of drug users with the aim of getting contacts of peddlers who couldn't make it to the party.
The next day, they prepare a list of peddlers along with their phone numbers and details about the kind of substances each one of them peddles. The list is forwarded to their senior officials who waste no time in sending a request for electronic surveillance to the state home ministry.
The substances purchased by the team are packed off to a forensic laboratory for purity testing. This will help the team understand which peddler is peddling the purer stuff and which ones are mixing their booty. Clearly the one's selling pure stuff make for stronger leads.
The surveillance allows the team to listen in to every word spoken by the peddlers. Soon they will get in touch with their senior peddlers who in turn will lead the team to other bigger players and the network will expose itself.
This scenario is impossible because by the time a big fish in the chain is identified the team will realise its bosses are no longer interested.
They will then be asked to stop all this FBI/DEA business and get back to routine work Mumbai style.
In all likelihood, there will be another rave bust somewhere.
I don't know whether smoking weed causes psychosis or not, but I know for sure that busting a rave and arresting youngsters and then subjecting them to psychological surveys that support a certain political agenda is a dangerous practice that needs be questioned and mocked.
For anyone vaguely familiar with popular drug culture, the busting of a rave party by the police has become such a common and oft repeated joke that it's no longer funny.
It's a joke because there is nothing that a rave bust does to credibly curb either the trade in narcotics or bring down the rapid adoption of a drug lifestyle by a section of the younger people.
Everyday more and more young people are buying weed across the city. More and more youngsters are popping the pills and hoping to create a music album while tripping on LSD. They watch films that don't exactly highlight the side effects of doing drugs unless it's 'Requiem for a Dream' which in my opinion is more about America than about drugs.
Shops openly sell T-shirts that promote marijuana usage and it's not difficult to imagine someone somewhere trying very hard to roll their first joint.
The joke's no longer funny because the police's modus operandi has become extremely repetitive even by police standards.
Since the narcotics control bureau's Delhi office busted a rave party in 2003 at a farmhouse on the outskirts of the capital, the algorithm for a successful bust was repeated by the Pune police in 2006 and respectfully adhered to by the Mumbai Police last year when they busted a rave at a nightclub in Juhu.
One more rave bust anywhere in the country and the following will become part of the police-training manual.
Rave bust algorithm
Step one: Find out where the next rave is happening. If your regular intelligence network fails, ask your colleague's son or daughter and they will find out for you through Facebook.
Step two: Land up at the rave right when the party is peaking and announce your presence.
Step three: Realise that the music is too loud for anyone to pay attention. (This is the most important step. You skip it and the IB will think the cops are regular at rave parties)
Step four: Head for the DJ's console. Let the gentleman to be the boss for two minutes. Allow him to say "Uncle you are at the wrong place". This will set the tone for step five.
Step five: Give the DJ two tight slaps and watch him cry like a paranoid baby. Shut down the music and arrest everyone present.
Step six: Hold a press conference the next day announcing that a handful of peddlers and nearly two hundred drug users were arrested. Make special mention of the fact that most of youngsters caught had rich parents.
Step seven: Go home and let the idiot box do the talking. Enjoy! This is your moment. If you don't get your kicks, hang on for six months to a year and repeat the cycle from step number one.
Game for some good press
Compared to the police's style of committing criminal encounters, busting a rave party is by far a boring business. But like most boring things it has its benefits. The media can raise questions about an encounter. It can allege, without any proof whatsoever, that the police had picked up the dead criminals a few days earlier and bumped them off later.
But no one in their right mind, for obvious reasons, can claim that the police covertly organised the rave party and then raided it to earn medals and promotions.
So, while a risky proposition like an encounter can lead to suspension (if proved fake) or medals and out-of-turn promotions (if they are genuine) a boring idea like busting a rave doesn't have such dramatic endings. A rave bust usually leads to positive publicity for the cops who did it and a serious envy among their peers who thought the idea was too boring.
It also gives the general public --- a group scientifically proven to have a short short-term memory --- an idea that something really serious is being done about the entire business of drugs trafficking.
Questions no one is asking
Following the rave party bust in Mumbai certain startling facts came to light. The police claimed that youngsters arrested and duly tested for drug consumption were doing new substances like LSD and ecstasy besides the usual suspects like charas and ganja.
Now, either the Mumbai Police officials are way too dumb or they were born yesterday because none of these substances are new in any way.
LSD is by far the oldest synthetic psychedelic known to man and according to many experts fuelled the hippie movement in the 1960s and most of the music of the Grateful Dead.
It was invented in the 1940s and by the 1960s it had reached young people all over the world including India. When its creator Dr Robert Hoffman died last year most national newspapers carried huge articles about him and LSD, his problem child.
Verifiable accounts by reformed drug addicts of the 70s like Mahesh Bhatt bear testimony to their prolonged use of LSD and other drugs. Clearly either the Mumbai Police doesn't have its facts right or is plainly bluffing.
As far as ecstasy is concerned the pill has been around for more than a decade in India and cannot be called new by any stretch of imagination. That leaves charas and ganja, two versions of marijuana that were completely legal for consumption in India before the Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances act was promulgated in 1986 by the Indian state. If none of this is new then what's the fuss about?
Now we're warming up to the real question.
If all these banned substances aren't new then someone must be trading in them big time and making a killing? Who are the top five drug lords of India that take care of the supply, distribution and procurement of these illegal drugs?
No one knows; at least not the police. And the worst part is that none of the drug peddlers arrested regularly by the police have any clue either. They are way too low in the supply chain to have an idea of who is their boss.
In a city where an auto driver knows the local drug peddler and the local pimp and can take you there without a commission, the arrests of drug users and peddlers from a nightclub may be legally justified but on every other count it is a serious eye wash.
An Impossible scenario
Here's an imaginary scenario that is impossible for all practical purposes. Mumbai police gets serious about drug trafficking and chooses not to make vague arrests to get cheap thrills and publicity.
The crime branch chief makes a crack team. They decide to act on a rave party happening in a popular nightclub in the city.
Instead of busting the rave, the crack team acquires invitations to the event and lands up in attire that doesn't raise any eyebrows.
Grooving to the music the team gets friendly with both the peddlers and the drug users to work their way up the drug supply chain.
They buy a large quantity of various illicit substances drugs from the peddlers and take their numbers for further use. Additionally, they also befriend a number of drug users with the aim of getting contacts of peddlers who couldn't make it to the party.
The next day, they prepare a list of peddlers along with their phone numbers and details about the kind of substances each one of them peddles. The list is forwarded to their senior officials who waste no time in sending a request for electronic surveillance to the state home ministry.
The substances purchased by the team are packed off to a forensic laboratory for purity testing. This will help the team understand which peddler is peddling the purer stuff and which ones are mixing their booty. Clearly the one's selling pure stuff make for stronger leads.
The surveillance allows the team to listen in to every word spoken by the peddlers. Soon they will get in touch with their senior peddlers who in turn will lead the team to other bigger players and the network will expose itself.
This scenario is impossible because by the time a big fish in the chain is identified the team will realise its bosses are no longer interested.
They will then be asked to stop all this FBI/DEA business and get back to routine work Mumbai style.
In all likelihood, there will be another rave bust somewhere.
The seizure of 70g cocaine has made the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police suspicious. For supplies in such huge quantities are mostly meant for rave parties.
An ANC raid on Saturday led to the arrest of two Nigerian nationals and a leading peddler from the city with the huge quantity of cocaine. The police are trying to find out from the arrested trio about the people to whom the consignment was to be delivered, and if it was meant for any rave party in the city or its surrounding areas.
Cocaine is one of the most sought after party drugs, and is consumed by the elite class. As it has to be imported from foreign nations, it is always in high demand. “Cocaine brought into the country is invariably smuggled in by carriers working for drug lords operating across India,” a police officer said.
In Saturday’s raid, ANC officers managed to catch a big fish operating in the city. He has been identified as Isaac Fuguba, a Nigerian national who reportedly smuggle the drug into the country with help of carriers, and supplies it to peddlers in the city. Another major player nabbed in the raid was Yusuf Khan, 47, who has three drug cases against his name, and was out on bail.
The third person arrested, Nigerian national Keninde Rotimi, 20, had been arrested with cocaine before. On January 29, he was caught with five cocaine capsules, and had swallowed three of them. The police had to wait for almost a week till the swallowed capsules came out of his system, and were seized.
The ANC acted on Saturday following a tip-off. The trio was nabbed near the ONGC Colony at Bandra Reclamation. When Rotimi saw the ANC men coming, he recognized a few faces and surrendered without a fight. But the six-footer Fuguba tried to flee. He was a well-built man and the ANC men said they managed to nab him because they had cordoned off the whole area.
Khan, Rotimi and Fuguba were produced in the court on Sunday. They were remanded in police custody for eight days.
Additional commissioner of police (crime) Deven Bharti, when asked whether the drug was meant for a rave party, said, “I cannot comment on the case at present.”
An ANC raid on Saturday led to the arrest of two Nigerian nationals and a leading peddler from the city with the huge quantity of cocaine. The police are trying to find out from the arrested trio about the people to whom the consignment was to be delivered, and if it was meant for any rave party in the city or its surrounding areas.
Cocaine is one of the most sought after party drugs, and is consumed by the elite class. As it has to be imported from foreign nations, it is always in high demand. “Cocaine brought into the country is invariably smuggled in by carriers working for drug lords operating across India,” a police officer said.
In Saturday’s raid, ANC officers managed to catch a big fish operating in the city. He has been identified as Isaac Fuguba, a Nigerian national who reportedly smuggle the drug into the country with help of carriers, and supplies it to peddlers in the city. Another major player nabbed in the raid was Yusuf Khan, 47, who has three drug cases against his name, and was out on bail.
The third person arrested, Nigerian national Keninde Rotimi, 20, had been arrested with cocaine before. On January 29, he was caught with five cocaine capsules, and had swallowed three of them. The police had to wait for almost a week till the swallowed capsules came out of his system, and were seized.
The ANC acted on Saturday following a tip-off. The trio was nabbed near the ONGC Colony at Bandra Reclamation. When Rotimi saw the ANC men coming, he recognized a few faces and surrendered without a fight. But the six-footer Fuguba tried to flee. He was a well-built man and the ANC men said they managed to nab him because they had cordoned off the whole area.
Khan, Rotimi and Fuguba were produced in the court on Sunday. They were remanded in police custody for eight days.
Additional commissioner of police (crime) Deven Bharti, when asked whether the drug was meant for a rave party, said, “I cannot comment on the case at present.”
What’s with the rave new world
More than 250 youngsters were caught in a midnight swoop by the police at a rave party near Pune. But what really is a rave party? Speak Up talks to those who have been there, done that and tries to see through the haze.
You can do whatever you want
There are different kinds of rave parties. Most of them are held outdoor in jungles, or at beaches or in a desert like the one in Rajasthan. Rave parties are often disguised under the name of festivals. Everyone who is invited is a druggie.
Trance and psytrance is the music played. A rave party is all about the location, the drugs and the music. Regulars visit the universal website for rave parties — isratrance.com. Usually, someone with a music system and a place will organise a party and tell friends who will spread the word about the venue.
It is hard to explain how we feel at a rave party. It takes you to a metaphysical level where everyone around is part of one big family. The notion about open sex is a myth. Once you are high, your mentality is different; you can’t even think of sex. We ravers want liberty and hate to be dictated by others on what we can or should do..
Everyone should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies. At rave parties, you can do what you want with yourself. —SM
Orgies happen, though not at all rave parties
Typically, you get a tip-off about a rave party from other ravers. The news is circulated strictly within the circle; not everyone is invited and you can't bring in anyone you like. You have to be very careful.
You are informed vaguely about the location. After you set off for the place, you are told the exact location. That way, the location is undisclosed for most part and hence remains a secret. For example, you are told in advance that a rave is to take place somewhere in Karjat. You are told of the precise spot later, perhaps when you set off for Karjat.
These parties are always conducted out of the city; at least the ones I have been to have always been overnight affairs. There is definitely a risk of being busted, though I haven't seen or heard of any raves being busted before Saturday’s raid in Pune. The general mentality at a rave is ‘to each, his own’.
So there are people who want to have clean fun and there are people who dope, wherein they carry their own stuff. Then there are also people who indulge in orgies. But not necessarily all rave parties are about sex and drugs.
Nothing is planned in advance — you get there and things happen, and obviously,you must have the discretion to refuse to participate in anything that you are not sure about. Otherwise, it's like any other party, with no restrictions whatsoever. Most ravers are between 18 to 28 years old. These are a bunch of people who are having fun because they want to. And nobody will stop you from indulging in anything you want to.—Rahul
Normal parties?
Rave parties are like normal parties, with drugs. But you can’t label them as druggie parties; if you want to have drugs, you can have them anywhere.” —Nimish
It’s a small group; sex is common
Rave parties are private parties held by locals who send out invitations secretly. Usually, they are held in secluded, private bungalows. Raves are mostly private affairs and you tend to know most people on the circuit. When everyone knows each other, sex is common. Most rave parties are held in Goa while a few are held in Mumbai too. The Caribbean translation of rave is ‘to get high’ and so most invitees are the ones who do drugs. Drugs available include LSD, Brown Fumes, Snake Bites, Cocaine — drugs that can elevate you to the highest peak. These drugs are expensive; 1gm of Cocaine can cost you upto Rs4,000. Even the cigarettes available are not your usual cigarettes; they are ‘joints’ and contain drugs. —Name withheld
The idea is to get high
I have been to raves in Goa. Usually these parties are held on secluded beaches secretly. If the party is being held in the night, no one is informed about them till late evening. Only regular dopers are invited.
There are a number of hot spots like Curly's where the party venue is shared. A genuine rave is usually a small party maybe with a bonfire where 50-60 people come with their 'maal' and get high. The whole point of a rave is to get high on drugs but no one is forced. So you can shoot up or smoke a joint, everything goes. There is no open sex because everyone is too stoned to even think that way.
Rave parties with thousands of people are not genuine as they are usually sponsored by big restaurants . Real raves are on secluded places with few people who know each other. —Broken Pieces
You can do whatever you want
There are different kinds of rave parties. Most of them are held outdoor in jungles, or at beaches or in a desert like the one in Rajasthan. Rave parties are often disguised under the name of festivals. Everyone who is invited is a druggie.
Trance and psytrance is the music played. A rave party is all about the location, the drugs and the music. Regulars visit the universal website for rave parties — isratrance.com. Usually, someone with a music system and a place will organise a party and tell friends who will spread the word about the venue.
It is hard to explain how we feel at a rave party. It takes you to a metaphysical level where everyone around is part of one big family. The notion about open sex is a myth. Once you are high, your mentality is different; you can’t even think of sex. We ravers want liberty and hate to be dictated by others on what we can or should do..
Everyone should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies. At rave parties, you can do what you want with yourself. —SM
Orgies happen, though not at all rave parties
Typically, you get a tip-off about a rave party from other ravers. The news is circulated strictly within the circle; not everyone is invited and you can't bring in anyone you like. You have to be very careful.
You are informed vaguely about the location. After you set off for the place, you are told the exact location. That way, the location is undisclosed for most part and hence remains a secret. For example, you are told in advance that a rave is to take place somewhere in Karjat. You are told of the precise spot later, perhaps when you set off for Karjat.
These parties are always conducted out of the city; at least the ones I have been to have always been overnight affairs. There is definitely a risk of being busted, though I haven't seen or heard of any raves being busted before Saturday’s raid in Pune. The general mentality at a rave is ‘to each, his own’.
So there are people who want to have clean fun and there are people who dope, wherein they carry their own stuff. Then there are also people who indulge in orgies. But not necessarily all rave parties are about sex and drugs.
Nothing is planned in advance — you get there and things happen, and obviously,you must have the discretion to refuse to participate in anything that you are not sure about. Otherwise, it's like any other party, with no restrictions whatsoever. Most ravers are between 18 to 28 years old. These are a bunch of people who are having fun because they want to. And nobody will stop you from indulging in anything you want to.—Rahul
Normal parties?
Rave parties are like normal parties, with drugs. But you can’t label them as druggie parties; if you want to have drugs, you can have them anywhere.” —Nimish
It’s a small group; sex is common
Rave parties are private parties held by locals who send out invitations secretly. Usually, they are held in secluded, private bungalows. Raves are mostly private affairs and you tend to know most people on the circuit. When everyone knows each other, sex is common. Most rave parties are held in Goa while a few are held in Mumbai too. The Caribbean translation of rave is ‘to get high’ and so most invitees are the ones who do drugs. Drugs available include LSD, Brown Fumes, Snake Bites, Cocaine — drugs that can elevate you to the highest peak. These drugs are expensive; 1gm of Cocaine can cost you upto Rs4,000. Even the cigarettes available are not your usual cigarettes; they are ‘joints’ and contain drugs. —Name withheld
The idea is to get high
I have been to raves in Goa. Usually these parties are held on secluded beaches secretly. If the party is being held in the night, no one is informed about them till late evening. Only regular dopers are invited.
There are a number of hot spots like Curly's where the party venue is shared. A genuine rave is usually a small party maybe with a bonfire where 50-60 people come with their 'maal' and get high. The whole point of a rave is to get high on drugs but no one is forced. So you can shoot up or smoke a joint, everything goes. There is no open sex because everyone is too stoned to even think that way.
Rave parties with thousands of people are not genuine as they are usually sponsored by big restaurants . Real raves are on secluded places with few people who know each other. —Broken Pieces
Don’t rave about it
The dictionary meaning of the word ‘rave’ is to ‘talk wildly, as in delirium.’ For a younger crowd, substitute dance, for talk. Though the rave party concept is old, even prehistoric by today’s standards, since it began in the 1960s, it continues to appeal to the hip youngsters of today for its mixture of a mood of abandon, electronic music and sadly, drugs.
Rave parties are quite common in parts of Goa, and in and around Mumbai too and occasionally, when the police gets to know of them, they get busted, as happened over the weekend. The Pune cops walked in, disguised as party goers, and arrested nearly 300 youngsters from different parts of the country.
It’s interesting to note that the cyber and economic crimes cell of the police picked up information on the party, since the word on the rave had been spread through a website. Even more intriguing is the fact that the party took place on Holi weekend, when Indian revelers traditionally imbibe bhang, a derivative of the cannabis or hemp plant.
As it always tends to happen, whenever a rave party is raided, reports tell us that among those who were arrested were call centre employees, air hostesses and students. The sub-text is clearly that these are the ‘types’ who routinely go in for such degenerate events and take drugs.
Let us look at the big picture here. The main drugs caught were marijuana, hashish, charas and ganja, all derivatives of hemp. A few synthetic party drugs were also found.
By all means even token drug taking must not be condoned, more so since it is illegal. But the thrust of the anti-drug effort of the police and other authorities should be on the cartels, the big drug dealers, the financiers.
It is no secret that India, and specifically Mumbai, is a major point on the international drug trade. It is used as a port for clearance and as the entry point for an important market. This cannot possibly happen without the involvement of local gangs and even the co-operation and connivance of local authorities. The drugs available at a rave party have travelled through a supply chain — that chain needs to be snapped.
Cultures around the world have grappled with the problem of drugs; some of the users turn criminal, while others are largely harmless. In the UK, the government is trying to understand why its tough anti-drug policy has failed. Public policy has to take all factors into account and come up with appropriate responses. No one is advocating libertarian excess, but the state’s intervention must be in proportion to the crime and move with the times.
Rave parties are quite common in parts of Goa, and in and around Mumbai too and occasionally, when the police gets to know of them, they get busted, as happened over the weekend. The Pune cops walked in, disguised as party goers, and arrested nearly 300 youngsters from different parts of the country.
It’s interesting to note that the cyber and economic crimes cell of the police picked up information on the party, since the word on the rave had been spread through a website. Even more intriguing is the fact that the party took place on Holi weekend, when Indian revelers traditionally imbibe bhang, a derivative of the cannabis or hemp plant.
As it always tends to happen, whenever a rave party is raided, reports tell us that among those who were arrested were call centre employees, air hostesses and students. The sub-text is clearly that these are the ‘types’ who routinely go in for such degenerate events and take drugs.
Let us look at the big picture here. The main drugs caught were marijuana, hashish, charas and ganja, all derivatives of hemp. A few synthetic party drugs were also found.
By all means even token drug taking must not be condoned, more so since it is illegal. But the thrust of the anti-drug effort of the police and other authorities should be on the cartels, the big drug dealers, the financiers.
It is no secret that India, and specifically Mumbai, is a major point on the international drug trade. It is used as a port for clearance and as the entry point for an important market. This cannot possibly happen without the involvement of local gangs and even the co-operation and connivance of local authorities. The drugs available at a rave party have travelled through a supply chain — that chain needs to be snapped.
Cultures around the world have grappled with the problem of drugs; some of the users turn criminal, while others are largely harmless. In the UK, the government is trying to understand why its tough anti-drug policy has failed. Public policy has to take all factors into account and come up with appropriate responses. No one is advocating libertarian excess, but the state’s intervention must be in proportion to the crime and move with the times.
Crackdown on rave party in Juhu, 231 detained
Seven peddlers arrested from pub, drugs seized
MUMBAI: In the first of its kind crackdown in Mumbai, the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the city police busted a rave party at an upmarket pub in the suburbs and detained 231 youngsters on Sunday. Many of them were from Delhi, Pune and other places.
Police also arrested seven drug peddlers and seized drugs worth Rs10 lakh.
The rave party was organised at Bombay 72 degree in Juhu, which had opened just three months ago.
There was high drama at the Police Club behind Azad Maidan where all those rounded up were taken.
The youngsters — mostly college students and young executives — let out a stream of abuse at mediapersons.
“Leave us alone,” several of them yelled as they dodged the shutterbugs, their faces covered with newspapers, t-shirts and napkins, as their family members waited outside.
Several of those detained were from affluent families in Bandra and other western suburbs. “Many of those invited to the party came from Delhi, Pune and other cities,” said a senior police official.
The 231 detained included 37 girls. Among the drug peddlers held was a woman, besides DJ Ben Huen Shauy Simon, an Israeli. Ecstasy, LSD, marijuana were also seized in the raid.
Police said most of those detained were aged between 18 and 23. They included Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor’s son Siddhant. Police suspect one those detained was a minor. The HSC student, who claimed he was 18, had accompanied his older brother.
The pub belongs to Bollywood filmmaker Prakash Mehra. However, he had leased it out to one Tony Singh and some others, Mehra’s son Amit said an official statement. “We do not have anything to do with the running of the pub,” the statement says.
“We have taken blood and urine samples of the detainees,” said Vishwas Nagre Patil, deputy commissioner of police. The detainees were taken to various government hospitals and their samples sent to Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory. “Based on the reports, we will initiate appropriate action if they test positive,” added Nagre Patil. The detainees were let off after they furnished their photo IDs and contact details.
MUMBAI: In the first of its kind crackdown in Mumbai, the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the city police busted a rave party at an upmarket pub in the suburbs and detained 231 youngsters on Sunday. Many of them were from Delhi, Pune and other places.
Police also arrested seven drug peddlers and seized drugs worth Rs10 lakh.
The rave party was organised at Bombay 72 degree in Juhu, which had opened just three months ago.
There was high drama at the Police Club behind Azad Maidan where all those rounded up were taken.
The youngsters — mostly college students and young executives — let out a stream of abuse at mediapersons.
“Leave us alone,” several of them yelled as they dodged the shutterbugs, their faces covered with newspapers, t-shirts and napkins, as their family members waited outside.
Several of those detained were from affluent families in Bandra and other western suburbs. “Many of those invited to the party came from Delhi, Pune and other cities,” said a senior police official.
The 231 detained included 37 girls. Among the drug peddlers held was a woman, besides DJ Ben Huen Shauy Simon, an Israeli. Ecstasy, LSD, marijuana were also seized in the raid.
Police said most of those detained were aged between 18 and 23. They included Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor’s son Siddhant. Police suspect one those detained was a minor. The HSC student, who claimed he was 18, had accompanied his older brother.
The pub belongs to Bollywood filmmaker Prakash Mehra. However, he had leased it out to one Tony Singh and some others, Mehra’s son Amit said an official statement. “We do not have anything to do with the running of the pub,” the statement says.
“We have taken blood and urine samples of the detainees,” said Vishwas Nagre Patil, deputy commissioner of police. The detainees were taken to various government hospitals and their samples sent to Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory. “Based on the reports, we will initiate appropriate action if they test positive,” added Nagre Patil. The detainees were let off after they furnished their photo IDs and contact details.
What’s with the rave new world
More than 250 youngsters were caught in a midnight swoop by the police at a rave party near Pune. But what really is a rave party? Speak Up talks to those who have been there, done that and tries to see through the haze.
You can do whatever you want
There are different kinds of rave parties. Most of them are held outdoor in jungles, or at beaches or in a desert like the one in Rajasthan. Rave parties are often disguised under the name of festivals. Everyone who is invited is a druggie.
Trance and psytrance is the music played. A rave party is all about the location, the drugs and the music. Regulars visit the universal website for rave parties — isratrance.com. Usually, someone with a music system and a place will organise a party and tell friends who will spread the word about the venue.
It is hard to explain how we feel at a rave party. It takes you to a metaphysical level where everyone around is part of one big family. The notion about open sex is a myth. Once you are high, your mentality is different; you can’t even think of sex. We ravers want liberty and hate to be dictated by others on what we can or should do..
Everyone should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies. At rave parties, you can do what you want with yourself. —SM
Orgies happen, though not at all rave parties
Typically, you get a tip-off about a rave party from other ravers. The news is circulated strictly within the circle; not everyone is invited and you can't bring in anyone you like. You have to be very careful.
You are informed vaguely about the location. After you set off for the place, you are told the exact location. That way, the location is undisclosed for most part and hence remains a secret. For example, you are told in advance that a rave is to take place somewhere in Karjat. You are told of the precise spot later, perhaps when you set off for Karjat.
These parties are always conducted out of the city; at least the ones I have been to have always been overnight affairs. There is definitely a risk of being busted, though I haven't seen or heard of any raves being busted before Saturday’s raid in Pune. The general mentality at a rave is ‘to each, his own’.
So there are people who want to have clean fun and there are people who dope, wherein they carry their own stuff. Then there are also people who indulge in orgies. But not necessarily all rave parties are about sex and drugs.
Nothing is planned in advance — you get there and things happen, and obviously,you must have the discretion to refuse to participate in anything that you are not sure about. Otherwise, it's like any other party, with no restrictions whatsoever. Most ravers are between 18 to 28 years old. These are a bunch of people who are having fun because they want to. And nobody will stop you from indulging in anything you want to.—Rahul
Normal parties?
Rave parties are like normal parties, with drugs. But you can’t label them as druggie parties; if you want to have drugs, you can have them anywhere.” —Nimish
It’s a small group; sex is common
Rave parties are private parties held by locals who send out invitations secretly. Usually, they are held in secluded, private bungalows. Raves are mostly private affairs and you tend to know most people on the circuit. When everyone knows each other, sex is common. Most rave parties are held in Goa while a few are held in Mumbai too. The Caribbean translation of rave is ‘to get high’ and so most invitees are the ones who do drugs. Drugs available include LSD, Brown Fumes, Snake Bites, Cocaine — drugs that can elevate you to the highest peak. These drugs are expensive; 1gm of Cocaine can cost you upto Rs4,000. Even the cigarettes available are not your usual cigarettes; they are ‘joints’ and contain drugs. —Name withheld
The idea is to get high
I have been to raves in Goa. Usually these parties are held on secluded beaches secretly. If the party is being held in the night, no one is informed about them till late evening. Only regular dopers are invited.
There are a number of hot spots like Curly's where the party venue is shared. A genuine rave is usually a small party maybe with a bonfire where 50-60 people come with their 'maal' and get high. The whole point of a rave is to get high on drugs but no one is forced. So you can shoot up or smoke a joint, everything goes. There is no open sex because everyone is too stoned to even think that way.
Rave parties with thousands of people are not genuine as they are usually sponsored by big restaurants . Real raves are on secluded places with few people who know each other. —Broken Pieces
You can do whatever you want
There are different kinds of rave parties. Most of them are held outdoor in jungles, or at beaches or in a desert like the one in Rajasthan. Rave parties are often disguised under the name of festivals. Everyone who is invited is a druggie.
Trance and psytrance is the music played. A rave party is all about the location, the drugs and the music. Regulars visit the universal website for rave parties — isratrance.com. Usually, someone with a music system and a place will organise a party and tell friends who will spread the word about the venue.
It is hard to explain how we feel at a rave party. It takes you to a metaphysical level where everyone around is part of one big family. The notion about open sex is a myth. Once you are high, your mentality is different; you can’t even think of sex. We ravers want liberty and hate to be dictated by others on what we can or should do..
Everyone should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies. At rave parties, you can do what you want with yourself. —SM
Orgies happen, though not at all rave parties
Typically, you get a tip-off about a rave party from other ravers. The news is circulated strictly within the circle; not everyone is invited and you can't bring in anyone you like. You have to be very careful.
You are informed vaguely about the location. After you set off for the place, you are told the exact location. That way, the location is undisclosed for most part and hence remains a secret. For example, you are told in advance that a rave is to take place somewhere in Karjat. You are told of the precise spot later, perhaps when you set off for Karjat.
These parties are always conducted out of the city; at least the ones I have been to have always been overnight affairs. There is definitely a risk of being busted, though I haven't seen or heard of any raves being busted before Saturday’s raid in Pune. The general mentality at a rave is ‘to each, his own’.
So there are people who want to have clean fun and there are people who dope, wherein they carry their own stuff. Then there are also people who indulge in orgies. But not necessarily all rave parties are about sex and drugs.
Nothing is planned in advance — you get there and things happen, and obviously,you must have the discretion to refuse to participate in anything that you are not sure about. Otherwise, it's like any other party, with no restrictions whatsoever. Most ravers are between 18 to 28 years old. These are a bunch of people who are having fun because they want to. And nobody will stop you from indulging in anything you want to.—Rahul
Normal parties?
Rave parties are like normal parties, with drugs. But you can’t label them as druggie parties; if you want to have drugs, you can have them anywhere.” —Nimish
It’s a small group; sex is common
Rave parties are private parties held by locals who send out invitations secretly. Usually, they are held in secluded, private bungalows. Raves are mostly private affairs and you tend to know most people on the circuit. When everyone knows each other, sex is common. Most rave parties are held in Goa while a few are held in Mumbai too. The Caribbean translation of rave is ‘to get high’ and so most invitees are the ones who do drugs. Drugs available include LSD, Brown Fumes, Snake Bites, Cocaine — drugs that can elevate you to the highest peak. These drugs are expensive; 1gm of Cocaine can cost you upto Rs4,000. Even the cigarettes available are not your usual cigarettes; they are ‘joints’ and contain drugs. —Name withheld
The idea is to get high
I have been to raves in Goa. Usually these parties are held on secluded beaches secretly. If the party is being held in the night, no one is informed about them till late evening. Only regular dopers are invited.
There are a number of hot spots like Curly's where the party venue is shared. A genuine rave is usually a small party maybe with a bonfire where 50-60 people come with their 'maal' and get high. The whole point of a rave is to get high on drugs but no one is forced. So you can shoot up or smoke a joint, everything goes. There is no open sex because everyone is too stoned to even think that way.
Rave parties with thousands of people are not genuine as they are usually sponsored by big restaurants . Real raves are on secluded places with few people who know each other. —Broken Pieces
Rave parties: The fad of GenNext
Lack of parental control, easy availability of drugs, the new culture of chilling out — whatever that might entail, disposable income and cut-throat competition at the work place have all contributed to “Rave parties”, held mostly on the city’s outskirts at temporarily isolated venues, open fields, sea shores or vacant buildings
The atmosphere is electric, the air balmy and the music jarring. The all-night private parties at cellars, clubs and resorts on the outskirts of the city are the typical venue for the latest fad — “Rave parties”.
The raid on a rave party in Pune, on Sunday has put the spotlight back on the rave party culture of Mumbai. These parties feature music with a fast and pounding beat, with enough dope and booze on the house.
According to officials of Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC), such “rave bashes” are gaining popularity, particularly among teenagers and young adults who are hard on drugs.
According to a senior police officer, raves are held at temporarily isolated venues, open fields, sea shores or vacant buildings on the city’s outskirts, mostly on weekends. “Attendance can range from 30 “ravers” in a club to tens in an open field. While techno music and light shows are essential to raves, hard drugs such as cocaine, Methylene Dioxy Methamphet Amine — , Ketamine and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide have become an integral part of the rave culture,” observed a senior cop.
“Raves” are characterised by high entrance fee, rampant drug use and “chill rooms”, where ravers go to cool down and often engage in open sexual activities, says a senior officer, from the Narcotics Control Bureau, Mumbai, seeking anonymity.
Most youngsters who are a part of such gangs say that it’s their way to “distress”. “Once you enter the rave-chain, such parties are passed on through word-of-mouth or SMSes,” says Mihir Gawde, (name changed), an advertising professional who regularly attends rave parties.
Insiders rubbish off claims that orgies are rampant at raves. “Sometimes people do get sexual, but those are rare cases. Many people get their spouses along, and are in it for the music and the high,” says a media executive, requesting anonymity.
The most recent raid on a rave party took place on September 24, 2006 at a farm house at Gorai Road, Borivali. The ANC arrested 80 people and 13 drug suppliers. Boys and girls from “affluent families” were among those arrested, police officials had revealed. According to sources, 50gm charas and 10-15ml LSD were seized from each individual.
According to cops, thecity is turning into a transit point of drugs. “The source of drugs at such parties shrouded in secrecy. Our officers are always on the toes to gather information on them,” said DCP (ANC), Dilip Shrirao.
The atmosphere is electric, the air balmy and the music jarring. The all-night private parties at cellars, clubs and resorts on the outskirts of the city are the typical venue for the latest fad — “Rave parties”.
The raid on a rave party in Pune, on Sunday has put the spotlight back on the rave party culture of Mumbai. These parties feature music with a fast and pounding beat, with enough dope and booze on the house.
According to officials of Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC), such “rave bashes” are gaining popularity, particularly among teenagers and young adults who are hard on drugs.
According to a senior police officer, raves are held at temporarily isolated venues, open fields, sea shores or vacant buildings on the city’s outskirts, mostly on weekends. “Attendance can range from 30 “ravers” in a club to tens in an open field. While techno music and light shows are essential to raves, hard drugs such as cocaine, Methylene Dioxy Methamphet Amine — , Ketamine and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide have become an integral part of the rave culture,” observed a senior cop.
“Raves” are characterised by high entrance fee, rampant drug use and “chill rooms”, where ravers go to cool down and often engage in open sexual activities, says a senior officer, from the Narcotics Control Bureau, Mumbai, seeking anonymity.
Most youngsters who are a part of such gangs say that it’s their way to “distress”. “Once you enter the rave-chain, such parties are passed on through word-of-mouth or SMSes,” says Mihir Gawde, (name changed), an advertising professional who regularly attends rave parties.
Insiders rubbish off claims that orgies are rampant at raves. “Sometimes people do get sexual, but those are rare cases. Many people get their spouses along, and are in it for the music and the high,” says a media executive, requesting anonymity.
The most recent raid on a rave party took place on September 24, 2006 at a farm house at Gorai Road, Borivali. The ANC arrested 80 people and 13 drug suppliers. Boys and girls from “affluent families” were among those arrested, police officials had revealed. According to sources, 50gm charas and 10-15ml LSD were seized from each individual.
According to cops, thecity is turning into a transit point of drugs. “The source of drugs at such parties shrouded in secrecy. Our officers are always on the toes to gather information on them,” said DCP (ANC), Dilip Shrirao.
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