Two die of suspected drug overdose at Goa rave

Two youngsters died early on Sunday at two separate rave parties at the popular beach village of Anjuna in north Goa, possibly due to drug overdose, police said.

Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar said he favoured a thorough probe into the deaths of Pravin Surendran from Tamil Nadu and Nidam Abdulla from Kerala, who died at a private hospital in Anjuna, 20 km north of Panaji.

In a statement issued from St. Petersburg in Russia, the Minister said he spoke to north Goa district Superintendent of Police to demand a ban on rave parties and other late-night events.

"Drug proliferation increases with outdoor music (parties). I had written to the Chief Secretary and other officials to take strict action," said Palienkar, who is the local MLA.

SP (north Goa) Chandan Choudhury did not rule out drug overdose as the reason for the two deaths. He said post-mortem, expected to be conducted on Monday, would reveal the exact cause of death.

--IANS

maya/tsb/dg