217 minor boys and girls picked up from Navi Mumbai dance party

At least 262 youngsters, including 217 minor boys and girls, were detained by the police in Navi Mumbai during a raid at a dance party in a restaurant in Nerul on Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided Rain Ultra Lounge and Restaurant along the Palm Beach Road in Nerul's sector 6 in the afternoon and detained 163 boys (140 minors) and 99 girls (77 minors). Almost all were found smoking and drinking and dancing to loud music, according to the police. "Many are children of renowned businessmen, police officers and politicians," an officer said.

Restaurant owner Sukhdeo Singh Bumra, 40, manager Devendra Singh, 35, three DJs and a couple of hotel staff have been arrested. Also, liquor worth Rs3 lakh was confiscated from the spot.

"First of all, the owner did not take permission from the entertainment division of the revenue department for organising such a huge party," Suresh Mengade, DCP (Zone I), said. "Just imagine 300 youths dancing and drinking in a 300sqft hall. The restaurant did not take any precautionary measure... People were drinking and smoking everywhere... Had an LPG cylinder exploded in the kitchen everyone would have been burnt alive."

Mengade said the owner cheated the excise department by stocking and selling such a huge quantity of foreign liquors.

"An event management group reached out to the youngsters through various networking sites and lured them to attend such parties regularly. They would sell passes for Rs600 each. For girls, entry was free," Sangeeta Alphonso, senior inspector of Nerul police station, said.

All those detained have been taken to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation hospital in Vashi for check-ups. "Once we are done with the check-ups, we will hand them over to their parents."