Atharva Shinde Death: Eight youngsters may be booked under NDPS Act, says cops

All of them had been tested positive for cannabis, which is banned under the NDPS Act.

The Aarey police said they are awaiting the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports of the eight youngsters who were present at the party in an Aarey bungalow, in connection with the Atharva Shinde death case. The youngsters will be booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, if they test positive for drugs.

Atharva Shinde, 20, son of Mumbai police inspector was found dead in Aarey Colony (HT Photo)

On Saturday, HT had reported that all of them had been tested positive for cannabis, which is banned under the NDPS Act.

The FSL report was dispatched on Friday. “We are likely to receive the FSL report by Monday. If the results comeback positive, we will arrest the youngsters for consumption of drugs. Meanwhile, we are trying to identify the drug peddler,” said a police official. The case is being investigated by the crime branch unit 11.

Atharva Shinde, 20, son of a serving police inspector in Mumbai Police, had been found dead on the morning of May 9, after attending a party at a bungalow in Aarey, Goregaon (East). The party had been organised by the daughter of a Marathi film producer. Others in attendance included five minor boys and Shinde’s girlfriend.

According to the post-mortem report, Shinde suffered injuries on his chest, head, and eyes. A murder case was registered against an unidentified person, and nine days later, the case was transferred to the crime branch. However, the five hours of CCTV footage that eventually came to light led the police to suspect that the death may have been caused by some other reason.