Jalandhar/Mumbai:
A day after he was detained on charges of consuming banned drugs at a rave party, Pune Warriors player Rahul Sharma pleaded innocence.
"I was told this was a birthday party, hence I went with my friend. When we reached there, it seemed like a normal party which I usually attend. The cops wanted to check us, and we allowed. We were then taken to the hospital, and they cleared us," Rahul said.
I am sure my results won't be positive, he said adding that he is hearing about rave party for the first time. "If tests are positive, I'll quit cricket," Rahul said.
Rahul and his teammate Wayne Parnell were among about 100 people who were detained at the Oak Woods Hotel in Juhu on Sunday night; they were later released.
Parnell said he as " at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"We were not aware of a rave or of any drugs being taken, the party was on the pool terrace so it was very relaxed.We were sent to a hospital in Mumbai where blood and urine samples were taken. At no stage was I arrested or detained. I was calm because I knew that I hadn't done anything wron, " the South African bowler added.
More IPL players were allegedly present at the party, but had managed to leave before the police raided the hotel.
There were also reportedly a number of celebrity children, people connected to the film industry, including actor Apoorva Agnihotri, and foreigners among those detained. There is no confirmation yet on whether they did consume banned drugs, but police said they had seized about 110 grams of cocaine and drugs like Ecstasy from the party venue.
Medical tests have been conducted on 52 men and 38 women at the Cooper Hospital. Reports are awaited and the police they would take action against those whose blood or urine samples showed traces of drugs.
The police have arrested a man, Vijay Vishesh Handa, who they said organised the party, under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. He has been remanded to police custody till May 25.
Invitations for the party were sent out through social networking site Facebook. A message posted on the site said, "Support the party, not the drug", the police said, adding that they were trying to ascertain whether this was the way to inform people that there would be drugs at the party.
Actors Himanshi Choudhary and Apoorva Agnihotri were reportedly at the party and have been tested for drugs.
(Watch: Did not do drugs at party, says Apoorva Agnohotri) Himanshi tweeted this morning, "Wasn't a Rave. It was just a party. All in hospital for blood test now." She also tweeted, "This wud not have been blown outta proportion. I heard the figures on drugs procured, seems bizarre. Will only know after da results of test."
"We had nothing to do with the party. We were sitting at the front while the party was going on behind us. Even if they were doing anything, we would not know," Apporva said at a press conference this afternoon.
Additional Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nagre Patil of the Mumbai police said they were focused on finding out who the peddlers were. A complete investigation would reveal more, he said.