NESCO Overdose Case: Drug Syndicate Angle Emerges, key Supplier Absconding

Mumbai: In the case of drug overdose deaths last week at a NESCO music event, the police revealed that the four arrested suspects – Anand Patel, Vineet Gerelani, Shubh Agarwal and Ayush Sahitya – were in touch with the key drug supplier who is absconding, and transferred sales from the supply to his wife.

On Monday, the four were produced before the Borivali metropolitan magistrate court, which remanded them to police custody till April 23. While the police sought seven days of custody to trace the drug source and dismantle the supply racket, the court granted four days.

Patel and Agarwal's lawyers, Azad Gupta and Surendra Landge, said analysis of bank documents did not require the physical presence of their clients in police custody.

Investigation into the financial trail revealed Sahitya was allegedly in direct contact with the key supplier, and the police are currently making efforts to trace and arrest him.

The police have further scrutinised the bank statements of the suspects, finding that Patel, Gerelani, Agarwal and Sahitya conducted multiple financial transactions among themselves 10 days before the NESCO event and immediately after it.

Money was also transferred to various other accounts, including a transaction from Gerelani to Sahitya’s sister’s bank account during the event.

Authorities suspect the group is linked to a wider drug syndicate and may have cached a large quantity of narcotics. Regarding the venue, the police stated that such a large quantity of drugs could not have been supplied at NESCO without assistance from the organisers.

Consequently, investigators intend to question all vendors and their officials in the presence of the arrested suspects.

The organisers had assigned security to Safecure Company, and it is alleged that guards from the firm allowed the suspects to enter the venue without tickets.

Police are now investigating whether other security personnel were involved.

The investigation follows the deaths of two MBA students, Shreya Rai, 24, and Bismaad Bhasin, 28, who allegedly died due to an ecstasy pill overdose during the concert on April 11.

Another attendee, Sheetal Salvi, 25, remains under treatment at Bombay Hospital. To date, police have arrested 10 suspects. Five, including NESCO staff, an event management official and two students, are in 14-day judicial custody.

A security guard, 30, was arrested on Sunday and remains in police custody until April 24.

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