BENGALURU: The names of Aditya Alva, son of late politician Jeevaraj Alva, and Viren Khanna, the man who had set ablaze the niche party circle in Bengaluru, especially for expats, figuring in the narcotics drugs racket, has sent shockwaves through the food and beverages industry.
According to sources, 12 names — including those of Aditya, Viren and realtor Prashanth Ranka — were revealed by the alleged woman drug peddler Anikha D, and are part of the FIR registered by Cottonpet police last week. Anikha was arrested with two others, Mohammed Anoop and R Ravindran, by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bengaluru zonal unit. Anoop is from Kochi and is reportedly known to Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Speaking to The New Indian Express on condition of anonymity, sources known to Aditya, his friends and Viren, said the former has been renting out his family property, ‘House of Life’ situated on the banks of Nagwara lake in Hebbal, for events, including weddings and big-ticket parties. “House of Life’ was also the maiden venue of Bengaluru’s ‘Fly Dining’ experience, which didn’t take off well because of required legal and environment permissions, a source said.
“Aditya’s close friend is a DJ, who is also a friend of Ragini Dwivedi. She has been spotted with her friend Ravishankar. The common friends are familiar faces at parties at star hotels and other niche venues,” he added. Ravishankar is a clerk at the RTO. His name figured prominently in the contraband drugs case, though it is not mentioned in the FIR registered by Cottonpet police against Ragini and others.
Viren is known at almost all star hotels in the city, where he hosts parties on a reported shared revenue basis with a select guest list, which includes Bengaluru’s creme de la creme. He hosts the events under his brand venture, Viren Khanna Productions.
A certain class of people gets invited to these parties, where they can let their hair down. He has been organising expat parties for more than a decade, and founded the Bangalore Expats Club, said another source familiar with the city’s party circles. Sources said investigation in the drugs network “will open a can of worms with names of political and social celebs coming out. Consumption of contraband drugs at parties is not a secret. Police should go after the drug dealers”, said sources.
Alva flees Bengaluru
Aditya Alva reportedly left Bengaluru soon after the NCB busted the contraband drug racket late last month, sources said. The CCB reportedly detained his bodyguard for questioning.