IN A police raid that lasted over five hours and involved over 100 personnel, blood samples were collected from 288 people at a club in Gurgaon’s Udyog Vihar in the early hours of Saturday.
Gurgaon Police said they conducted a raid at the nightclub, Casa Danza, following a “secret input” about a “rave party”, and recovered narcotics, including heroin, cocaine, charas, marijuana and MDMA, from the premises. The police, however, said no narcotics were recovered from anyone’s personal possession, and no arrests have been made so far.
The blood samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for testing, they said, adding that all those tested were allowed to leave.
“The list of 288 people whose blood samples were taken, with their contact details, has been tagged with the FIR. After the FSL report of sampling is received, necessary action will be taken,” said Udyog Vihar ACP Manoj Kumar.
The police said the raid, which also included four Crime Branch teams, a “scene of crime” team and another from the Chief Medical Officer’s office, was carried out around 2 am.
“There was suspicion that the people at the club had allegedly consumed a narcotic, contraband or a psychotropic substance. So their blood samples were taken with the assistance of a team from the CMO’s office… further action shall be taken based on the results,” said ACP Manoj Kumar.
He said that after blood sampling and personal search, a thorough search of the club premises was conducted. “From the club premises, 10.67 gram charas, 6.3 gram heroin, 6.3 gram cocaine, 3.67 gram MDMA, 2.2 gram marijuana in packets, and some suspicious tablets…were recovered,” the officer said.
Police said they have registered an FIR against the club owners, who were identified as Arvind Yadav, Abhishek Rana and Konark Sikka, and three managers named Maan Singh, Veer and Devesh. A case has been registered under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at Udyog Vihar police station, the police said.
The management of Casa Danza did not respond to calls and messages seeking a comment.
It is learnt that the police had planned to raid the club last weekend, but postponed the move after realising that more personnel would be required since at least 250 people gather there usually. At least 110 police personnel, including 45 women police officials, were part of the raid.
According to the FIR, additional staff was appointed at entry points as police teams entered the club. “The men and women were separated in different corners and all individuals in queues were searched. While searching the premises, underneath a table on the ground floor of the club, six small packets (pudiya) of cocaine and one small packet of charas were recovered. From a table/counter on the first floor, one small packet weighing 6.3 gram of heroin, six small packets of MDMA, some tablets and four cigarettes in which narcotics are suspected to be mixed, were recovered,” reads the FIR.
A police source said, “After police entered the club premises, music was shut and an announcement was made by a senior police officer asking people to cooperate in the search. A majority of party-goers were on the upper floor. After conducting personal searches, the blood samples of men and women were collected and their names and contact details were recorded. The narcotics were recovered from near dustbins and near tables and counters on the upper floor among other places, indicating that people may have disposed of them after seeing the police. The raid lasted till after 7 am.”
Confirming that no arrest has been made so far, ACP Manoj Kumar said, “The narcotics recovered were not in anyone’s possession, but were from the club premises. We have taken CCTV footage and will examine it to ascertain if someone had personally disposed of the narcotics at the premises or they were being supplied at the club.”
Virender Yadav, Chief Medical Officer (Gurgaon), confirmed that the blood samples of 288 people were collected and handed over to the police.
Sources associated with arranging guest lists for the club said, “The crowd was relatively thin for a Friday night. An American DJ started performing around 2 am, and within a few minutes, the cops came in… There was panic and people asked if the police had requisite warrants but everyone cooperated.”
Last year in August, police had arrested a manager and six bouncers of Casa Danza for allegedly assaulting an MNC manager and his friends after they had confronted a bouncer for “misbehaving” with their friend.
