Bail yes, but still in jail
58 Revellers Spend 2nd Day Behind Bars; Blame It On Procedures
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Bangalore: First they were arrested for the mere offence of partying in a farmhouse and put in jail. Then they were accused of consuming drugs without any trace of evidence. But their woes did not end there. Even though 58 of the 101 persons were granted bail on Monday, they could not walk out of the jail due to procedural issues. So two nights in a row in the jail house for the sin of wanting to dance and, maybe, drink in a city that doesn’t know the meaning of ‘fun’ anymore.
Of the arrested, even those who coughed up a surety of Rs 20,000
and Rs 3,000 towards bail could not be released because the bail papers did not reach the Parappana Agrahara jail authorities before 6.30 pm, the cut-off time to entertain such orders. The remaining 43 persons could not mobilise the Rs 25,000.
Families of those arrested went through a harrowing time on Monday, most of which was spent outside the jail waiting to take their loved ones home. Though the lawyers for the arrested kept assuring the relatives that the bail papers were signed and would reach the prison in time, it was not to be. Prison authorities made it clear the process would take place only on Tuesday morning. “The bail papers should reach us latest by 6.30 pm. Now we are closing office. We will process it tomorrow morning,’’ jail superintendent Vishwanathaiah said.
On Sunday morning, 101 persons, including 38 foreigners, were arrested by the police for partying. The police could not produce them before the court that day, as it was a holiday. They were taken to the magistrate’s house and remanded to judicial custody. Later, all the arrested were sent to Parappana Agrahara jail for the night.
Though the police failed to recover any drugs from the farmhouse, the police on Monday — much like on Sunday — continued to maintain it was indeed a rave party. The blood-samples results of the arrested are yet to come from the Forensic Science Laboratory.
The police had raided party being hosted at a farmhouse called ‘Padma Thota’ near Big Banyan tree in Chunchanakuppe near Tavarekere in the early hours of Sunday. The farm is owned by Ramakrishnaiah, who had been private secretary to Siddaramaiah, when he was deputy chief minister. The police raided the place after receiving complaints from the locals and the beat police about the party. Though the police could not find any drugs at the party, they seized liquor, sound and music systems along with several vehicles.
The police had also arrested organizers— Mohammed Adam and Rishi and his wife. Another organizer, identified as Nithin, is still absconding. Invites were through e-mails and SMSes with Delhi-based DJs flown in for the birthday party as it was publicized.
The party supposedly started around 11 pm. Around 1 am, the zonal police got a call. Around 4 am, the police raided the place. The police even waited for about two hours since it was too dark to arrest all the partygoers.
ANY ANSWERS? 1
If the farmhouse was rented out for party with the owner collecting stipulated fee from every participant, why was the owner, who violated the law by indulging in a commercial activity, not arrested? 2 Do authorities suggest no private party can be held at all in Bangalore and its vicinity? 3 Why call it the farmhouse party a rave when drugs were not found? 4
Why arrest those who attended the party instead of shutting down the party and sending people home, as used to be the norm earlier whenever there were complaints about noisy parties? 5
What is the definition of ‘scantily’ dressed? Are short skirts and spaghetti straps indecent? Why is women’s clothing such a big issue these days when serious violations against women go unnoticed and unchecked? 6
Innocent until proven guilty has become guilty until proven innocent; isn’t that a travesty of the judicial system?
WHAT’S THEIR FAULT?
PARTY POOPERS
Anxious friends, family members of those arrested while attending a party, spend the whole day outside jail
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
While the 101 arrested for attending a party on the outskirts of Bangalore continue to suffer inside the jail for their relatives and friends it was a day of uncertain developments and nightmare outside Parappana Agrahara jail on Monday.
Most of them had no clue as to what was happening. The only thing they knew for sure was their their loved ones were inside the jail, that too for a good two nights, just for the sin of going to a party.
Pavan (name changed), a BPO employee whose seven friends were inside the jail was perplexed. Speaking to Times of India, he said “Even I was invited for the birthday party along with seven of my friends. Though we did not know whose birthday party it was, we all had decided to go. At the last minute, I had some pressing work at the office couldn’t go. But I asked my friends to go ahead. When I called them up at around 2.30 pm, it was clearly audible that they were having a blast.’’
Pavan only came to know about the incident in the morning when his mother called him up to ask about his friends who were shown arrested on television. According to him, the whole raid episode is a political conspiracy. Though he was not willing to divulge more information about it, he says the raid was conducted not just for the nuisance factor but to settle scores. He had spent the entire day in front of prison coordinating with the lawyers for his friends’ bail.
For Mariam (name changed), an Iranian national, the incident has come as total shock. Her doctor husband had casually told her that he was going to a party with friends at around 9.30 pm on Saturday. But when she tried calling him up at around 2.30 pm, he did not pick up the phone.
But he called up in the morning to say that he was arrested. “I did not know why he was arrested or where he was arrested. I thought he was arrested for drunken driving. Only on Sunday evening when I watched news on the TV, I realized he was arrested for partying.’’
Most of them were confused about the bail status since the bail orders had not reached the prison by the evening.
Tenzing (name changed), a private bank employee said that his sister was also inside the jail. But he claimed that his sister was only there to give petrol to another friend who had asked for it since he had no petrol in his vehicle that night. Tenzing said that his sister was arrested for just being present at the party scene though she hadn’t gone to the party.
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HERE ARE SOME FACTS OF THE MATTER
WHAT IS A RAVE PARTY? Rave parties are organised underground parties involving drugs, alcohol, sex, dance and music. They usually start after dusk, but mostly after midnight and go on till morning. The parties in Bangalore usually have 50 to 100 people and the entry varies from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. Most of them are organised on the outskirts of the city, close to villages or in forests or in open air. There are also private rave parties, sometimes organised in clubs or at home.
IS GOING TO A PARTY A CRIME? Ramanagaram DySP D Devaraj said it was not a private party in a private farm house and the arrested were not known to the farm house owner. He said it was a commercial party without police permit: participants had to pay for entry, and that’s an offence. He said the organisers charged the party goers about Rs 1,000 as entry fee and advertised it over internet and smses. Devaraj also said serving liquor in an open area and playing music beyond the deadline of 11.30 pm was also an offence. He said, “Permission is a must for such parties to serve liquor after the deadline and they did not have any permit.”
WHAT HAPPENS AT RAVE PARTIES? It comprises a mix of people — teenagers, people in their mid-30s. They wear colourful clothes that reflect the light. Some play with poi balls (Poi is the word for “ball” on a cord. Poi is a form of juggling where the balls are swung around the body. Poi can take many shapes and forms from LED lighted, Glow, Fabric, Sock and Fire) while dancing. Invites are sent to participants through personal mails or messages. In Bangalore the same group usually hosts parties at different spots from time to time.
HISTORY
Rave parties began in the 1980s just as night parties and were widely attended by Bohemians or hippies. They played Electronica, Trance and Techno mostly. In Bangalore, psychedellic trance is played in almost all rave parties. Rave parties used to be associated with values of peace, love, unity, respect (PLUR). Bollywood’s most popular Dum Maro Dum number from Hare Rama Hare Krishna is conceptualised on a rave party.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Drugs were not found, but the police arrested all the 101 people on various other charges. Ramanagaram DySP D Devaraj says the arrests were made under the Karnataka Excise Act section 36 and also under IPC section 294 which deals with obscene acts and songs in public places. Ramanagaram DySP D Devaraj said, “On Sunday, we did not recover any narcotics. It might have got exhausted by the time we raided the premises. We have sent the blood samples to the lab and if they test positive for drug abuse, the partygoers would be booked under NDPS Act also,” he said.
WAS THIS A RAVE PARTY? Even though drugs were not found, DySP Devaraj says he will call it a rave party. The police are yet to get the medical report of the arrested from the Forensic Science Laboratory confirming the drug abuse. Police say excise rules have to be adhered to. Secondly, these parties should not disturb the neighbourhood. Drugs is a serious offence.
WHY WAS FARMHOUSE OWNER NOT ARRESTED?
The farmhouse belongs to Ramakrishnaiah, who worked as personal secretary to former deputy chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah. Party organizers had taken the farmhouse on rent and the negotiation was done through Ramakrishniah’s son. Ramanagaram SP Bisilahalli says if they come to know in the course of investigation that the farm house was rented for commercial purposes knowingly, then they will take action against the owner.
