Rahul Mahajan, the son of recently slain BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan, has been arrested on drugs charges after a three hour interrogation by police in his intensive care unit. Doctors will advise police when he is ready to be released into their custody.

Mahajan, and his late father’s aide, Vivek Maitra, were rushed to Delhi’s Apollo hospital early on the morning of Friday the 2nd after collapsing at Mahajan’s residence. They had been having a late night dinner. While Maitra was dead on arrival at the hospital, Mahajan was admitted in a critical condition. Doctors initially suspected both were victims of food poisoning.

What actually was the cause is still not clear. Qualitative tests undertaken by the hospital on Mahajan came back negative for drugs, strengthening the case for poisoning. But then it came out that a quantitative test by an outside lab on Mahajan’s urine had revealed traces of a “cocktail” of opiates, barbiturates, benzodiazepine, cannabinoids and cocaine, albeit at minimal levels according to the hospital. The initial post-mortem report on Maitra indicates that he did have some drugs in his blood, although it is not clear how much. Traces of Thallium – used in rat poison and insecticides – were also found.

A white powder, believed to be heroin, was found at Mahajan’s residence by a servant and handed over to police via medical staff. Associates of Maitra are alleged to have brought drugs to the house the Thursday night. Mahajan denies he took drugs and says that he passed out on wine. Meanwhile Sahil Zaroo, one of Maitra’s associates, claims that not only did Mahajan consume drugs he was the one who in fact ordered them. Zaroo, along with three Nigerians who allegedly supplied him with drugs, have also been arrested.

It was only a few days earlier that the 26-year-old Mahajan had made an appearance at the main Indian opposition party’s National Executive meeting in New Delhi and put himself forward for the service of the party his father had served since 1986, despite his lack of career political experience. A month before that his father had died from injuries sustained after being shot by his younger brother Praveen over a family dispute.