Police accused of power misuse as 192 partygoers stay in jail for 2 days

Greater Noida: Nearly 200 people attending a private party at a farmhouse would have spent over two days in prison before they can hope to get bail on Tuesday morning, in a case that increasingly looks like one of police excess rather than a crackdown on a “rave” party, as the cops have claimed.
Police, meanwhile, faced embarrassment as allegations of bribery surfaced against the SHO of Noida’s Expressway police station for allegedly accepting cash from the same party organisers in an earlier instance.
The 192 people rounded up from Eco Farms in Noida Sector 135 have been locked up in the district (Luksar) jail since their arrest early on Sunday. They have tried for bail twice but couldn’t — on Sunday, the police objected and the bail plea got cancelled, while on Monday, a lawyers’ strike at the local court meant the plea could not be moved.
The police’s decision to make the arrests has angered friends and family members of the partygoers, who pointed out that the reason cited for the raid and crackdown — the party’s organiser not procuring a licence to serve alcohol and allegedly procuring the booze from other states — was the organiser’s mistake and arresting people who were merely present as guests was absurd.
“My five friends have been locked up in jail. Of them, only two consume alcohol. The others were just there to enjoy the music and have fun. People can’t be locked up for that. Police have booked them for the organisers’ mistake. They were serving illicit liquor and had not paid tax. We seek action against police for misusing their powers against innocent people,” said Daksh Kumar.
Asked about the implications of the excise, food and tobacco act sections slapped on the arrested people, Pawan Choudhary, a lawyer at Surajpur court, said most of them were bailable. “Police have imposed sections that are bailable except the one under Excise Act, which is consumption of illegal liquor, and another under the Food Safety and Standards Act. However, both these charges are debatable in court. The accused will most probably get bail on Tuesday,” he said.
Police have, however, not invoked stringent provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 against the partygoers or the five organisers. They are also yet to identify the “suspicious powder” they claim to have recovered from the party.
Police sources said a similar raid had been carried out on the same farmhouse a month ago but no one was arrested. SSP Vaibhav Krishna, who led the raid at Eco Farms on Sunday, said allegations of bribery were being probed. “It has been brought to my notice that the local police have in the past taken money from owners of the farmhouse. We are investigating that. In this connection, we have sought permission from the Election Commission to suspend the SHO of Expressway police station. We have kept the Expressway police officers off this case,” he said.
The haul from the party raid includes five large hookahs, 26 small ones, 112 bottles of beer, 30 bottles of wine (meant for sale only in Delhi), five packets of smoker coal, 11 packets of tobacco and the “suspicious powder”. Krishna said the powder was a “possible sedative” and will be sent to the forensic science laboratory (FSL) for examination. Police could not, however, confirm the quantity of the powder recovered.
Ajay Kumar Aggarwal, the investigating officer of the case, said he was unaware about the recovery of any powder and only the “recovery team” could answer that.
Police have said the sections invoked are enough to make arrests. The 192 people arrested have been charged under sections 60/63/72 of the Excise Act, 268 (public nuisance), 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Section 5 (3) 4 of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act.
Police said the organisers had advertised the party as a “pool party” with ads on Facebook but could not confirm if every participant was aware that tobacco, alcohol and hookah would be served without permission. Police also claimed some of the women present at the party at Eco Farms were escorts.
Rajesh Kumar, executive director at the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses, told TOI that the consumption of alcohol and tobacco products by adults was not punishable, but it is the consumption of any narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance which is outlawed under the NDPS Act and Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. “It is correct to say that serving drugs and tobacco products like hookah without permission is illegal but the onus lies on the organisers here and not the participants. The latter may or may not be aware like the present case,” he said.
The party had been organized via social media as “Saturday Pool Party”, a weekend get-together.