Written by Chandan HaygundePune | October 7, 2025 11:56 AM IST 2 min readPune city police recorded the statement of Rohini Khadse, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP), on Monday, in connection with the alleged drugs party case against her husband Dr Pranjal Khewalkar. (Source: Adv Rohini Eknathrao Khadse X/@Rohini_khadse)Pune city police recorded the statement of Rohini Khadse, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP), on Monday, in connection with the alleged drugs party case against her husband Dr Pranjal Khewalkar.Speaking to media persons later, Rohini said the police had called her to discuss certain points about the case.“I have replied to the questions asked of me… The matter is subjudice, so it would not be correct to share the details with the media. We are cooperating with the police,” she said.Rohini said she was sure that husband was innocent and the same would be proven in a court of law. Rohini is the daughter of senior politician and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse.Story continues below this adRohini visited the crime branch office in Pune Police Commissionerate on Monday morning. Crime branch sleuths questioned her and recorded her statement.Police had arrested Khewalkar along with four men and two women during a raid at apartment number 102 of the Staybird Azure Suite building in Kharadi around 3.20 am on July 25.Police said 2.7 grams of a substance suspected to be cocaine, 70 grams of substances suspected to be marijuana and other items including ten cell phones, two cars, a hookah pot, liquor and beer bottles, all worth Rs 41,35,400, were seized from the spot. A forensic examination confirmed that Khewalkar had not consumed any drugs. A court granted him bail in this case on September 25.Khewalkar had through his lawyer submitted in court that police planted the contraband seized in this case for “political” reasons. The lawyer had argued that drugs were neither consumed by Khewalkar nor recovered from his possession, so the charges against him under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) act were false.Story continues below this adThe other accused in this case include a cigarette trader Nikhil Jethanand Poptani (35) from DSK Sundarban, Amanora Park and a construction businessman Shripad Mohan Yadav (27) from Akurdi.Poptani had been booked in an online cricket betting racket case registered at the Kondhwa police station in May 2023. As per police records, Yadav was earlier booked in three criminal cases of gambling, cheating and allegedly causing hurt to a government servant on duty at different police stations in Pune.Chandan Haygunde is an assistant editor with The Indian Express with 15 + years of experience in covering issues related to Crime, Courts, National Security and Human Rights. He has been associated with The Indian Express since 2007. Chandan has done investigative reporting on incidents of terrorism, left wing extremism, espionage cases, wildlife crimes, narcotics racket, cyber crimes and sensational murder cases in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra. While working on the ‘Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Fellowship on Tigers, Tiger Habitats and Conservation’ in 2012, he reported extensively on the illegal activities in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. He has done in-depth reporting on the cases related to the Koregaon Bhima violence in Pune and hearings of the ‘Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry’. ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:pune