Mumbai, May 20: Two IPL players were detained by police along with 94 others from a rave party in a suburban hotel in Juhu in western Mumbai on Sunday night.
"Wayne Parnell and Rahul Sharma of Pune Warriors were picked up after we busted a rave party in a hotel. They were detained for questioning. Their blood and urine samples were also taken to test whether they had consumed any drugs. They were let off after two-and-a-half hours. They may be called back if the samples test positive," said a source in Mumbai police.
Minutes after he was released, Rahul Sharma told The Telegraph: "I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I had been invited to attend a birthday party at the hotel by a friend's friend. As I went in around 8.45pm at the restaurant, I saw police everywhere. They called me, asked me a few routine questions, took my samples and let me off. I am not scared because I have not done anything wrong." Parnell was unavailable for comment.
Police sources said that among those detained is a celebrity fashion designer, well known for his association with Bollywood and an NCP leader's relative. The boyfriend of a Calcutta-based actress and a DJ were among those picked up.
The police claimed to have seized 110gm of party drugs, including cocaine, Ecstasy and charas, from a restaurant of the four-star hotel.
The Azok restaurant of Oakland Premiere is a known haunt of models, cricketers and Bollywood celebrities, many of whom stay in Juhu and Bandra or in the nearby suburbs of Andheri, Lokhandwala and Versova.
The Azok is among three high-profile hangouts known for "Sunday sundowners" ' parties to celebrate sunsets. Only the most dedicated partygoers turn out for Sunday sundowners to "re-tox" after the Saturday night hangover.
The restaurant had started calling itself Caf� del Mar Sundown after the popular Caf� del Mar at the world's original party hotspot, Ibiza.
"We picked up 38 girls and 58 men. Of these 19 are foreign nationals and they are all women. We have sent them to Cooper hospital to test urine and blood samples. Those who test positive will be called back and cases registered," said Vishwas Nagre Patil, additional commissioner of police (narcotics), who led the raid.
"Approximately, 110gm of drugs have been seized. Prima facie, they appear to be cocaine, Ecstasy and charas, but we will confirm the exact quantity later. We will conduct a proper investigation into who organised the party and who the drug peddlers were," Nagre Patil added.
The IPS officer had fought terrorists inside the Taj Mahal Hotel during the 26/11 attacks.
Additional reporting by Satish Nandgaonkar