Goregaon concert drug deaths: Security guard arrested for allowing illegal entry to drug peddlers

Pradip Gupta, the accused security guard, had allowed entry to the two alleged peddlers even though they did not have passes.

A 27-year-old security guard at the NESCO Exhibition Centre in Goregaon was arrested on Sunday for allegedly letting in two drug peddlers into the premises on April 11, when the ‘999999999’ music concert was underway. Two MBA students who were attending the concert had died after consuming Ecstasy pills allegedly supplied by the accused peddlers, who have been arrested, while a third student is still under treatment.

Five accused who were arrested after the two students died on April 11, including two MBA students, have been remanded in judicial custody. (Hindustan Times)

Pradip Gupta, the accused security guard, had allowed entry to the two alleged peddlers even though they did not have passes, in lieu of a ₹1,000-bribe from each peddler, the investigating officer of the case related to the students’ deaths argued before the Borivali magistrate on Sunday.

The police sought Gupta’s custody to probe if other guards at the venue were involved in allowing illegal entry to attendees. Allowing the plea, the magistrate remanded Gupta, the tenth accused arrested in the case, to police custody till April 24.

20 april drug deaths

Speaking to Hindustan Times, officers investigating the case said representatives of SafeCure, the company which managed security during the concert, would be questioned as part of the probe.

“More than 100 security guards and bouncers were deployed during the event. We will now question some of them to determine if any additional staff were involved in facilitating unauthorised entry,” an officer said, requesting anonymity.

As reported by HT on April 19, 24-year-old Ulhasnagar resident Aayush Vicky Sahitya, the alleged main supplier of drugs linked to the case, was arrested on Friday at Poladpur in Raigad district, while he was trying to flee to Goa. Sahitya was nabbed in a joint operation by the Vanrai police, which is probing the case, and officers from the Raigad police.

Investigators said Sahitya had financial transactions with the two alleged peddlers arrested in the case – Anand Patel and Vineet Gerlani. They also suspect that he had also paid off bouncers and security guards at the NESCO centre to facilitate illegal entry for the accused peddlers.

“During interrogation, Gerlani told us that he and Sahitya had strong links with bouncers and security guards at the NESCO centre, and they had entered the venue on April 11 through gate number 9 of hall number 5, without purchasing tickets and after bribing the guards and bouncers ₹1,000 each,” the officer quoted earlier said.

Sahitya, alleged peddlers Patel and Gerlani and Shubh Agarwal – an MBA student who also allegedly supplied drugs to the group of which the deceased students were a part – were earlier remanded in police custody till April 20.

While seeking their custody, the police had told the court that they wanted to confront Sahitya with the other accused and find out if he had any links with the event organisers or the staff at the NESCO centre. They also said that during a search at Gerlani’s house in Ulhasnagar, they had recovered five Ecstasy tablets weighing 305 grams, valued at ₹20,000.

Five accused who were arrested after the two students died on April 11, including two MBA students, have been remanded in judicial custody.