{
  "id": 4341287,
  "title": "NDPS Court Rejects Bail Pleas Of 3 Accused In NESCO Drug Overdose Death Case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/ndps-court-rejects-bail-pleas-of-3-accused-in-nesco-drug-overdose",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-30T03:47:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/ndps-court-rejects-bail-pleas-of-3-accused-in-nesco-drug-overdose-death-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Three accused in a drug overdose death case during a music concert at the NESCO Exhibition Centre have had their bail pleas rejected by a special NDPS court. The victims, two MBA students, died and several others were hospitalized following the suspected drug overdose at the techno music concert on April 11. The accused, Nitesh Khemlani, Pratik Pandey, and Raunak Khandelwal, sought bail arguing they had no material to establish their link to the deaths. Pandey claimed those injured and deceased were \"habitual to partying and consuming pills.\" Prosecution alleged Khemlani received a large sum from his brother, which was used to buy 4,000 MDMA pills overseas. Pandey sought pills from his peers, received money to arrange the contraband, and distributed the pills to Khandelwal and others who further passed on the drugs. The court, in rejecting the bail, noted the active and direct involvement of the accused in the crime, expressing concern that their release could lead to witness intimidation and tampering with the investigation.",
  "summary": "The special NDPS court has rejected the bail pleas of Nitesh Khemlani, students Pratik Pandey and Raunak Khandelwal, who are accused in connection with two 'drug overdose' deaths during a music concert at the NESCO Exhibition Centre. Two MBA students died and several others were hospitalised following a suspected drug overdose at a techno music concert held on April 11. Accused seek bail Seeking…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Press Journal",
        "title": "NIA Court Rejects Bail Cancellation Plea Against Sudha Bharadwaj, 3 Others In Elgar Parishad Case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/nia-court-rejects-bail-cancellation-plea-against-sudha-bharadwaj-3",
        "published": "2026-08-30T03:28:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}