Drug overdose deaths at concert: Poor management, greed for money led to tragic incident, says court

A special court here refused bail to key organisers of a concert in which two persons died of suspected drug overdose observing that poor management of the event fuelled by greed for money had turned an amusement site into a graveyard.

A special court here refused bail to key organisers of a concert in which two persons died of suspected drug overdose observing that poor management of the event fuelled by greed for money had turned an amusement site into a graveyard. Two MBA students died and several others were hospitalized following a suspected drug overdose at a techno music concert at NESCO Exhibition Centre in Goregaon on April 11. Preliminary reports suggest the victims consumed MDMA (ecstasy) pills, causing severe symptoms like breathlessness and dizziness during the event. On Thursday, special judge for NDPS cases UC Deshmukh rejected bail pleas of four accused, including the event organisers and accused students. In the separate reasoned orders made available on Friday, the court cited several critical violations by organizers Sunny Vinod Jain and Balakrishnan Kurup as well as distribution of drugs by accused students Pratik Pandey and Raunak Khandelwal. In one of the orders, the court, citing spot panchnama and empty liquor bottle recovered from the spot, noted that it shows the organizer allowed those who attended the event to consume alcohol. The organizers were directed to take care that no narcotic drugs or liquor was allowed to pass through and be used or consumed by anyone attending, the court said, adding that it was an example of poor management of an event. ''It may be intentional, negligent and/or an act done under the greed of money. However, such an act has turned into a tragedy, ultimately the place of amusement becoming the graveyard of two persons. Thus, organizers are prima facie responsible for negligence and mishap occurred in the event,'' the court held. In another order, the special judge highlighted that one accused (Pandey) was present at the event and tried to cash in on the chaos that emerged due to mismanagement of the event to sell contraband. Considering the facts and circumstances, the court said release of the applicants on bail when investigation is at preliminary stage may hamper the case. There is possibility of tampering with witnesses of the prosecution, it added. Thus, they are not entitled to bail, the court concluded. Following the deaths, a case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide and acts endangering life or personal safety. The accused were also booked under Maharashtra Alcohol Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.