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The Rediff Special/ S Hussain

The who's who striptease that turned into a nightmare

When the cops bust the rave party at Madh island

A rave party promising a 'sensual and ethereal experience' turned into a nightmare for the revellers when the police arrested 150 of the invitees, including 20 women and two foreigners at Madh beach in suburban Bombay last Sunday.

Named, ironically, as 'The White Party', the party began after Saturday midnight. It was a party of a kind unheard of in Bombay. It had a heady combination of generously served booze, nude male dancers, liberal women and even eunuchs.

It was 2 am, the party was just starting to jive, high on alcohol and spirits, when the police made their entry. In fact, unlike their raids on gangsters' hideaways, the police raided this party in style.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police (north west region) Rakesh Maria, the police had seen the posters and heard about the 'unusual' and 'queer' nature of the party.

Following this, a posse of plainclothes cops were posted around the party venue at Patilwadi, at Marve Road near Madh Island at Malad in the north-western suburbs of the city. The cops kept reporting to Maria about the happenings at the party.

Then suddenly the cops noticed that some male dancers had begun stripping and hurling their jeans, shirts and boxer shorts at the revellers. The cops were shocked to see that the dancers had even outdone Salman Khan's stripping act in London last month.

At least, the Brawny Khan had been in his underwear, but the dancers here were totally bare. "We cannot describe what was going on during the party. Simply put, things were beyond decency," said Assistant Police Inspector Nandkishore Mistry who witnessed the scene.

Eyewitnesses say that couples were caught in compromising positions including two couples who were indulging in oral sex.

Maria then instructed his men to send a lady cop inside and if she was manhandled then the police team could go in.

A women sub-inspector went inside. Dressed in tight jeans and a T-shirt, the lady cop looked every bit a collegian.

Even before she could absorb the scene, the male dancers began jostling and pushing her for a dance. The lady officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "The vulgarity of it all almost drove me to tears but my discipline stood me in good stead. I restrained myself and gave the signal of my colleagues to enter."

She had somehow managed to whip out her cell phone and dial the number of her colleagues and said "please come fast." The moment she said it, the dancers around her thought she was inviting more girls to the party. Little did they know she had sealed their fate.

The waiting cops in their Gypsies and Maruti 800s swooped down on the revellers. More than 55 policemen, including nine policewomen, cordoned off the entire ground.

The cops saw the stage was replete with laser lights and blaring music. A makeshift bar overflowed with foreign liquor and rich food.

An entry fee of Rs 600 was charged per head. An air-conditioned private bus ferried guests from Malad station to the spot and back, and the last bus was slated for 5 am on Sunday.

Initially, the police arrested all 150 participants of the party, all of whom were released on bail by Sunday afternoon.

However, the police made out an elaborate case against the organisers. The police have also registered cases against the nude dancers.

It is known the guests ranged from 18 and 60 in age. Almost all of them belonged to well-to-do families from Walkeshwar, Malabar Hill, Bandra, Juhu and Versova, all affluent localities in the city.

A large chunk comprised college students and at least two were television artistes. The two foreigners were US nationals.

Maria refused to reveal all the names, though, he said, "Almost all of them are from rich and famous families. It seemed like a parade of the city's who's who."

The police seized foreign liquor worth Rs 28,000. Musical instruments valued at around Rs 106,000 and marked notes of around Rs 11,690 were found on the accused.

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