Man who ‘hosted drug parties’ in south Delhi farmhouses arrested, say police

Karan Khanna had taken two farmhouses on rent, in Fatehpur Beri and Mehrauli, to host the alleged rave parties. He had 500 milligrams of hashish oil and 1 gram of imported California weed from him.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested with 1.2 kilograms of hashish and other drugs that he would supply to “rave parties” at south Delhi farmhouses, police said on Tuesday.

New Delhi, India - July 16, 2019: Delhi Police officials escort Karan Khanna (in red), an alleged high profile drug dealer, at Delhi Police Headquarters in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, July 16, 2019.(Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

Ram Gopal Naik, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch), pegged the worth of the recovered hashish (produced from cannabis) at ₹25 lakh in the international market, and the other drugs at R 15,000. In India, hashish sells for anywhere between ₹2 lakh and 8 lakh a kilo, depending on the quality, location and demand, said another investigator.

Identifying the arrested man as Karan Khanna, the DCP said that the suspect had taken two farmhouses on rent, in Fatehpur Beri and Mehrauli, to host the alleged rave parties.

Khanna was arrested near Tivoli Garden in Mehrauli on Monday after the police received a tip-off that he would be arriving in the neighbourhood. Apart from the hashish, police said they recovered 500 milligrams of hashish oil and 1 gram of imported California weed from him.

Later, the police also seized a Renault Duster car that Khanna allegedly used to transport the narcotics substances.

The DCP said that Khanna had moved from his hometown in Dehradun to Delhi in 1999.

“He had got admitted into a reputed private school in Delhi, but soon fell to drugs. He would procure drugs from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand through his contacts there. When his father passed away in 2012, Khanna began peddling drugs,” said DCP Naik, adding that Khanna was pursuing MBA.

The officer said that Khanna began procuring drugs from the hilly regions in large quantities to supply to “high profile rave parties” in Delhi. “Later, he decided to take two farmhouses in rent in remote locations to host his own rave parties. He would also get his contacts to courier him certain drugs from America,” said the DCP.

The officer said that Khanna went under the police radar because he only hosted members of a close-knit group. “Outsiders allowed into these parties required reference from Khanna’s friends,” said the DCP.