Women's panel asks police to look into rave party complaint

The Commission gave the direction recently after taking cognisance of a complaint filed with it by social activist Santosh Daundkar through his lawyer Y P Singh.

Daundkar has alleged the police had drawn urine and blood samples of women (for drug tests) illegally "as there was no such provision under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act)".

He said women were searched without following the mandatory procedure provided under the Act. "There is no provision under NDPS Act to detain a person for urine and blood samples once search in person has been done."

The social activist said "dignified" women were paraded before the media, undermining their esteem.

"Prescribed procedure for arrest, as laid down by the Supreme Court, was not followed," Daundkar charged.

Late last month, Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik had said 44 out of 92 people, who were rounded up from the rave party held at a plush hotel in suburban Juhu, had tested positive for drugs. These 44 were from a group of 46 men whose test results had been made public.

Among these 44, 27 had consumed cannabis, one had MDMA (better known as ecstasy, a drug usually taken in pill form) while 16 had consumed both the drugs, he had said.

The test results of 46 others, including two IPL cricketers Wayne Parnell and Rahul Sharma and 38 women, were awaited. Police had raided the hotel following inputs about the presence of drugs at the party. The participants were let off after their urine and blood samples were taken.

A rave party is essentially an event held without permission, usually outdoors or in basements, and is known for use of trance music, drugs and psychedelic lights.