Overview
- The Himachal Pradesh High Court on June 24 ordered the transfer of Kullu’s deputy commissioner, superintendent of police and sub‑divisional magistrate for failing to maintain public order around clandestine rave gatherings.
- A District Legal Services Authority report described a ticketed event at Green Forest‑I and Green Forest‑II in Grahan held June 7–11 with about 50 camping tents, private security and infrastructure able to host thousands.
- Following the court order, police raided the site, arrested two tourists for possession of cocaine and LSD, and a Russian DJ, Caria Kuzminykh, was reported to have died of a suspected drug overdose.
- Organisers have used tactics that exploit the valley’s isolated terrain and narrow trails—seeking permissions as ‘cultural events,’ hiring private security and promoting on encrypted apps—to enable quick dispersal and evidence removal.
- Locals are divided between economic reliance on tourism and fears of drug tourism, police records show 6,246 NDPS cases registered in three years, and the court action may trigger tighter oversight and probes into alleged official collusion.