NDPS Court Denies Bail to Three in NESCO Concert Drug Overdose Deaths

A special NDPS court has rejected the bail applications of Nitesh Khemlani and students Pratik Pandey and Raunak Khandelwal, who are accused in connection with the suspected drug overdose deaths of two MBA students at the NESCO Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.

The incident occurred during a techno music concert held on April 11, which left two students dead and several others hospitalised following suspected drug overdoses.

While seeking relief from the court, Khandelwal claimed there was no material linking him to the deaths. Pandey asserted in his plea that those injured and deceased were habitual partygoers who consumed pills. In his defence, Khemlani stated that he had been unemployed for the past four to five years and had been operating through his wife's bank account during that time.

The prosecution opposed the bail pleas, alleging that Khemlani received a large sum of money from his brother, another key accused, which was used to purchase 4,000 MDMA pills from overseas. The prosecution further argued that Pandey procured the contraband to meet demand from his peers and collected money from them before distributing the pills to Khandelwal and others, who then circulated the drugs further.

Rejecting the bail pleas, the court observed that the applicants had active and direct involvement in the alleged offence, which resulted in the loss of two young lives while another person was left in critical condition. The court noted that if released on bail, there was a strong possibility the accused might tamper with further investigation or pressure witnesses.