His success might have led to his plight, says Virender Khanna’s father

BENGALURU:  The family of Virender Khanna, who has been arrested by the CCB police in the drug case involving Sandalwood celebrities, has dismissed the allegations levelled against the event planner by the police. Khanna’s father Prof Sri Ram Khanna, former Head and Dean, Faculty of Commerce and Business at the Delhi School of Economics, said that his son never organised private parties, or parties at farmhouses, as alleged by the police.

“His business was to advertise and promote parties organised at hotels, resorts and pubs that had all required permissions to host parties. His role ended soon after the parties started. His company is registered, and regular GST and Income Tax payments were done,” Ram Khanna said. Starting his career as an event organiser in 2007, Virender, a computer engineer graduate, emerged as a leading party organiser in the city. “On average, he organised two parties every week.

Though I do not have any proof, I apprehend that his huge success in the business has led to his plight today. He had faced troubles from his business rivals and he used to tell me that they had tried to hinder his efforts to organise events. I suspect that the police are biased towards my son based on theories floated by his rivals,” Ram Khanna alleged.

Further, he claimed that the police had forced accused RTO clerk Ravishankar to give a statement that his son was also involved. “When I had met my son recently, I asked him whether he knew any of the accused and he had said no. He said that Ravishankar himself had told him that the police had forced him to give a statement against him (Virender). I am surprised why the police have framed my son in the case?” Ram Khanna wondered.

He also clarified that the six-grams of ganja seized from his son’s shared apartment did not belong to the latter. “Two others were staying in the shared apartment. The ganja seized was found in another room, where a French woman stayed. We have provided the necessary documents to the police,” Ram Khanna said, adding that his son neither used nor supplied drugs and no contraband was seized from his possession.