The death of three Sunburn Goa attendees has heightened the concern about drugs at EDM festivals in India.

On Friday of the festival, two tourists from Andhra Pradesh became unwell outside the venue and collapsed. They were rushed to a hospital where they were declared dead, according to police.

On Sunday night, the festival’s final day, another tourist from Bengaluru became uneasy, was rushed to a hospital, and later died.

GFP vice president Durgadas Kamat made a suggestion following the deaths: “The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should take over the probe into the cause of deaths at the EDM festival and the sudden increase of drugs everywhere in the state.”

When Culture Minister Govind Gawade was asked about the criticism toward government for allowing the event, he said: “The government is not forcing the youth to go and attend the Sunburn festival. They go on their own. No one is forced to go there.”

Interestingly enough, some of the DJs playing the music festival spoke out on the apparent overdoses, too.

“Drugs are impure. I know it’s easy to say this but one must realize the value of self-discretion when it comes to the use of drugs, rather than blame it on the authorities. I discovered something as pure as music can help me come out of it much faster.” – DJ Luciano

“There’s a myth attached to EDM. Some people think EDM is all about drugs, but it actually depends on the person. I don’t take drugs and I don’t expect that my audience has to take drugs to listen to my music. We should value the art of EDM.” – DJ Mr Bose

The latest installment of Sunburn took place in Goa over December 27-29, 2019. A #BanSunburn hashtag was revived and began trending before this year’s festival in an attempt to highlight the rampant drug use the festival attracts each year.

Sources: Huffington Post, Telangana Today