Pune: Former state minister Eknath Khadse’s son-in-law Pranjal Khewalkar and six others, including two women, were arrested after a Pune police team claimed to have busted a house party early on Sunday in a Kharadi studio flat off Pune-Ahmednagar highway where cocaine, marijuana and hookah pots were used along with liquor consumption.Police later took Khewalkar, who is an MD (medicine) and the husband of Rohini Khadse, who heads the NCP (SP)’s state women’s wing, and others to Sassoon General Hospital for medical tests and then to his bungalow in Hadapsar where searches were carried out as part of an investigation to trace the source of the drugs.“A laptop, three pen drives and a hard disk were among the articles seized from the bungalow,” a police officer said.Khewalkar and the others were produced before judicial magistrate first class N S Bari who ordered their custodial remand until Tuesday.Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told TOI, “Our crime branch team reached the flat following a tip-off and detained seven individuals, including Khewalkar, who were found partying there. The team seized cocaine (2.5g), marijuana (70g), hookah flavours and many liquor bottles.”Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Manoj Pingale said, “The seized drugs, hookah pots and flavours will be sent to forensic laboratory for further examination.”Police identified the other individuals as Nikhil Poptani (35), a cigarette trader from Hadapsar, Sameer Sayyed (41), a hardware businessman from NIBM Road, Shripad Yadav (27), a builder from Akurdi, Sachin Bhombe (42) of Wagholi, Isha Singh (22) of Aundh and Prachi Sharma (23) of Mhalunge,” deputy commissioner of police (crime) Nikhil Pingale said. He added that Khewalkar has a practice in Jalgaon and stays in Hadapsar.A case for offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) has been registered with the Kharadi police.Pingale said, “Khewalkar booked three suites in the studio apartment for three days between Friday and Sunday. He paid for them. Three other women were to arrive at the flat but walked away when the police action began. The men and the women know each other through a party circle.”Sassoon General Hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Yallapa Jadhav said, “Seven people, two women and five men, were brought to the hospital’s casualty on Sunday at 6.15am for medical examination and sample for alcohol and drugs consumption. Two had consumed alcohol according to the primary examination by the CMO. Blood and urine samples were collected from all and sealed and handed over to the police.”On Sunday afternoon, when TOI visited the apartment, the staff members said the two four-storey buildings have 34 suites. The rooms are available from Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,500, inclusive of breakfast and dinner. “Many people visit the apartment daily, and we give them rooms after taking photocopies of their ID cards,” a staffer said.In court, prosecutor Priyanka Vengurlekar submitted that police needed seven days of custody to investigate the source of the drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, and to ascertain if an organized gang was involved in the illegal sale of banned substances and if the accused have links to any inter-state drug network.“Two of the accused arrested are habitual offenders as they have cases registered against them in the past” she added.Khewalkar’s lawyer Vijaysingh Thombare submitted that the arrest was politically motivated. “There were previous attempts by the police in civil clothes to trap my client at two different locations, and CCTV footage from both sites supports this claim,” he said.Lawyer Abid Mulani, representing two other accused, submitted, “Police failed to provide the grounds of arrest to the accused at the time of their detention which is in direct violation of Section 50 of the CrPC, which mandates that the arrested persons be informed of the grounds in such an arrest.”Lawyer Sachin Zalte, appearing for co-accused Shripad Yadav, submitted that police have failed to mention in their arrest report the quantity of cocaine seized from the accused. The omission is crucial, as possession of less than two grams qualifies as a bailable offence under the current law.The court, while granting two-day custody, said the allegations of illegal arrest can be taken up in subsequent hearings.