HYDERABAD: In a pre-dawn raid, Hyderabad police busted a ‘rave party’ where drugs were consumed at the Pudding and Mink Pub of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Banjara Hills and detained 148 people, including 31 women.
Those detained include actress Niharika Konidela, TDP MP Jayadev Galla’s son Galla Siddharth and Tollywood singer Rahul Siplugunj. However, the police allowed them to leave after collecting their details.
The police also arrested the pub partner Abhishek Vuppala, son of BJP leader Sarada Vuppala, and manager Mahadaram Anil Kumar under NDPS Act. Arjun Veeramachineni, also associated with the pub and the rave party, is on the run.
West Zone DCP Joel Davis said that it was probable that 90 per cent of those present in the pub at the time of the raid could be innocent and only a handful of them would have consumed drugs.
Samples are yet to be collected from them and all the 148 persons who were in the pub would be summoned as part of the investigation.
Incidentally, the DCP refused to divulge the name of six more persons who are believed to be high-profile customers, stating that only the names of the arrested persons are revealed.
Task Force sleuths raided the pub after being tipped off about the increased volume of cars towards the hotel after 1 am every day. Five grams of cocaine was seized from the spot, while it’s alleged that weed also made rounds on the party floor. The NDPS Act notifies 2 grams as ‘small quantity’.
Seized powder is cocaine:
Cops The powder seized from Pudding & Mink was cocaine, confirmed tests. City police collected clove powder, herbal powder, table salts believed to be used to mask the cocaine supplied to consumers and sent them for forensic analysis.
Pub used exclusive app to allow customers entry
Davis said that the management of the pub allowed only elite and select customers access to the establishment with an intention of earning money and running the establishment till 4 am. An app is also maintained wherein a code is generated for each customer who is then allowed to enter only after showing the code.
After entry into the pub, drugs will be supplied when asked using code names like ‘Bro’, ‘Stuff ’, ‘Coke’ and ‘Ice’, said a police source.