Pune Party: Cocaine, Cash, and Political Link in Kharadi Hotel Raid
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Kharadi, 27th July 2025: In a major late-night crackdown, Pune Police’s Crime Branch raided a luxury hotel suite in the Kharadi area and uncovered a high-profile party involving drugs, alcohol, and hookah. The raid, conducted around 3:20 am at Room No. 102 of the Staybird Azure Suite Hotel, led to the arrest of seven individuals, including Dr. Pranjal Manish Khewalkar, son-in-law of senior NCP leader Eknath Khadse and husband of NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Adv Rohini Khadse.
The police seized cash, cocaine, ganja-like substances, liquor, hookah equipment, 10 mobile phones, and two four-wheelers, totally worth ₹41.35 lakh. The raid was initiated based on specific intelligence and was carried out under the supervision of DCP (Crime) Nikhil Pingle, with guidance from Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint CP Ranjan Kumar Sharma, and Additional CP (Crime) Pankaj Deshmukh.
Who Were Arrested?
The seven arrested include:
- Dr. Pranjal Manish Khewalkar (41) of Hadapsar
- Nikhil Jethanand Poptani (35) of Hadapsar (Cccupation – cigarette business)
- Sameer Fakir Mahmand Syed (41) of NIBM Road (Occupation – hardware business)
- Sachin Sonaji Bhombe (42) of Wagholi (Occupation – job)
- Shripad Mohan Yadav (27) of Akurdi (Occupation – Construction business)
- Isha Devjyot Singh (22) of Aundh
- Prachi Gopal Sharma (23) of Mhalunge
According to police, the accused had booked rooms from 25th to 28th July in Kharadi. The seized narcotics include 2.7 grams of suspected cocaine and 70 grams of ganja-like substance. All items have been sent for chemical analysis. Police said that Nikhil has previous criminal record related to cheating while Yadav has been earlier booked for gambling and cheating.
Legal Proceedings and Investigation
A case has been filed at Kharadi Police Station under multiple sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). A court has remanded the accused persons to police custody till 29th July.
“The crackdown is part of our intensified campaign against drugs in the city. We will take strict action against anyone found involved in such illegal activities. No one will be spared,” said DCP Nikhil Pingle, urging citizens to come forward with information related to drug abuse or trafficking.
Judicial Magistrate First Class N.S. Bari on Sunday remanded seven accused till July 29 including Pranjal Khewalkar—son-in-law of NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse in connection with a drug bust at a suspected drug party in Pune’s Kharadi area.
According to the prosecution, Pune Police raided a hotel apartment in the early hours of Sunday, acting on specific information. The apartment, booked under Pranjal Khewalkar’s name, was the site of a night party where five men and two women were found. During the operation, police seized liquor bottles, hookah setups, ganja, and 2.7 grams of cocainecategorized as an intermediate quantity under the NDPS Act. Video footage which went viraj on social showed scenes from the party, including a woman crying amid the chaos.
Public Prosecutor Priyanka Vengurlekar told the court that the accused habitual offenders with a criminal history. “The police followed due procedure during the operation. This is not an isolated incident. The evidence and contraband recovered support the charges,” he said.
However, Khewalkar’s lawyer, Advocate Vijaysinh Thombare, refuted the allegations, claiming his client is being falsely implicated. “The police have stalked him on two previous occasions and obtained CCTV footage from a hotel he stayed at. This third attempt appears to be a deliberate move to frame him and damage his political prospects. My client is not a criminal,” he argued. He further added that his client was a victim of political conspiracy.
Politics and Controversy
The arrest of Pranjal Khewalkar, who is married to Rohini Khadse, daughter of former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse, has sparked political controversy. Opposition parties have alleged that the action is politically motivated and intended as retaliation, especially in light of Khadse’s earlier allegations against BJP minister Girish Mahajan in a honey-trap case.
While the police maintain that the raid was based purely on intelligence, the opposition has questioned the classification of the gathering as a “rave party.” According to their claims, it was a private gathering following earlier celebrations at a Kalyani Nagar pub and a five-star hotel in Mundhwa. The event at Staybird Suite was labeled an “after-party.”
As investigations continue, police are probing the source of the narcotics and links to any larger drug supply networks in the city. More arrests may follow based on the findings.
