The Ahmedabad rural court on Monday rejected the bail pleas of 15 people arrested from the high-profile rave party busted at a farmhouse near Shilaj, citing the seriousness of the offences and the ongoing investigation.
Police had arrested 20 individuals, including 13 foreign nationals, during the raid on the “Hot Grabbers Night” party held last Friday. Earlier, five of the accused were remanded to police custody for two days.
After the remand ended, they were produced before the court on Monday.The court extended the police remand of liquor suppliers Anant Kapil and Ashish Jadeja by one more day to help trace the liquor source and examine WhatsApp chats for possible links to others.
The remaining three accused — party organiser Crypto John Cedric (a Kenyan national) and farmhouse owner Milan Patel — were sent to judicial custody.Cops went undercoverAccording to sources, police had prior intelligence about the secret rave.
An informant helped them trace the WhatsApp group through which John managed the event, which had around 200 members.“We joined the group using a fake profile and purchased digital passes,” a senior officer said. The location — Zephyr Farm in Shilaj — was shared only hours before the event.
A special team of 50 officers was then deployed around the city’s outskirts. “Around 6 pm, when the venue details dropped, our operation went live,” the officer added. Undercover cops entered using the passes, and once enough evidence was gathered, they signalled the outside teams, who quickly surrounded the venue.