Hundreds held in India party raid

Indian police have arrested 281 people for alleged drugs offences in a raid on a party in Pune, 220km (140 miles) east of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra.

Most of those arrested were students but there were also a number of professional people and eight foreign nationals, police said.

Officials said those arrested would face charges of selling or using banned drugs and would appear in court soon.

Correspondents say such rave parties are not unusual in Indian cities.

Senior police official Nangre Patil said the raid came after a tip-off from local informants.

Correspondents in Mumbai say for such parties invitees are informed of the venue and the time via phone text message or the internet.