People barred from Viren’s parties out to destroy him, says his father

Viren Khanna, the party organiser now being investigated in the drugs case, had rubbed many influential people the wrong way by refusing them entry to his parties.

Sri Ram Khanna, Viren’s father, believes someone with a grudge is out for Viren as he had barred people ‘who wouldn’t fit into the ethos of a party’.
Viren, arrested by the Bengaluru police on September 4 in Delhi, is lodged at the Parappana Agrahara jail.

Sri Ram Khanna, a retired professor from the University of Delhi and the Delhi School of Economics, says Viren did not supply drugs or condone drug-taking at his events.

VKP, Viren’s company, collaborated with reputed hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs as a service provider, he said.

Engineer first

Viren came to Bengaluru in 2004 when he joined the RV College of Engineering for a BE in computer engineering. “He got a campus placement in Accenture. He worked there for a year and later sought our permission to open a business organising parties and events,” Sri Ram Khanna told DH.

The parents were apprehensive at first because they didn’t know whether organising parties was a legitimate career. They were convinced he knew what he was talking about when they attended a New Year’s party he had organised in 2008 in Bengaluru. “It was clean fun and meant for working people out to have a good time,” he said.

Viren never hosted parties at farmhouses or organised parties of his own, his father said. Restaurants sought his services to promote their events. When police permissions were denied or delayed, both the restaurant and Viren suffered losses, he recalled. “There were occasions when he used every means to survive in the business. He always maintained a courteous relationship with the police,” Sri Ram Khanna, a resident of Shanthinagar, said.

Viren’s parties were popular. There was jealousy and rivalry among party organisers, and some were out to fix him, he said. The venues provided security and gave staff standing instructions to evict anyone suspected of carrying or consuming drugs.

“Viren must have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way,” observed Sri Ram Khanna. He also suspects a hostile ‘cultural agenda’ with TV channels insinuating that all party-goers are drug addicts. “I don’t think this is fair,” he said.

Sri Ram Khanna believes Viren’s parties helped professionals from other cities socialise. “Many young men and women who met at his parties are now married and have kids. He made people feel they belonged to this city,” he said.

‘No movie link’

None of the Kannada movie stars named in the drug scandal were ever seen at Viren’s parties, according to Sri Ram Khanna.

“These were largely for the IT crowd and expats living in the city. We have had policemen walk into the parties in mufti but they have never found a single case of drug abuse or illegitimate activity,” he says.

The police costume found during a search of Viren’s shared apartment is the one he has worn many times over the years, including at the annual Halloween party. There is nothing illegal about it,
he said.

Mother’s take

Radhika Khanna, his mother and a regular at several of Viren’s parties, is shocked at the developments.

“I’ve had so many women tell me that they felt safe at Viren’s parties. He was always cautious and never let anything go wrong,” she said.

The family is giving Viren all the support it can. “He feels insulted, and like a victim of grave injustice,” she said.