Mumbai drug overdose deaths case: 2 exhibition centre staffers move Bombay high court to seek bail

Mumbai: Two senior executives of an exhibition centre, arrested in connection with a fatal drug overdose case at a music concert in the city, have moved the Bombay high court challenging their "illegal" arrest and seeking bail.Balkrishna Kurup (46), vice-president (Live Events and IP) of Nesco Exhibitions, and Sunny Jain (31), senior manager (Live Events) at the centre in Goregaon, were arrested on April 13. Their arrest came after two MBA students, who attended the April 11 music concert at the Nesco Exhibition Centre, died allegedly due an overdose of drugs.Investigations suggested that the duo, studying in a well-known business school in south Mumbai, had allegedly consumed MDMA (commonly known as Ecstasy), a prohibited substance.In their petition, filed this week through advocate Rishi Bhuta, Jain and Kurup have contended that they were merely employees discharging their professional duties and had no direct or indirect involvement in any alleged drug-related activity.They argued that there was no material linking them to procurement, distribution, or consumption of contraband substances, and no recovery has been made at their instance.The plea states that consumption or possession of illegal substances was strictly prohibited at the venue, as per entry terms printed on tickets and displayed at the site.The duo, currently in judicial custody, claimed their arrest was illegal as police failed to comply with the mandatory safeguard under law regarding communication of ground of their arrest. PTI