Vikas Nath, an Indian-origin businessman and owner of two Michelin star restaurants, has admitted to spiking the drink of a woman at a nightclub two years ago. The incident occurred on January 15, 2024, at the Post Mayfair club Annabel's, when a staff member caught Vikas Nath adding a substance – a ‘date-rape drug’ also known as gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) – to a woman’s margarita.
While Vikas Nath has admitted to spiking the woman's drink, but denied the allegations that it was to have sex with her. He has said that he spike the drink to help the woman “relax”.
According to Hindustan Times, Vikas Nath is the director of the Michelin starred Benares restaurant in Mayfair. He owns a number of high-end restaurants in the UK and also Spain.
The woman told the court that she had met Vikas Nath about five to six times before the incident. She said Vikas Nath seemed genuinely concerned about her wellbeing and had invited her for drinks.
She also recalled that Nath had earlier warned her about drinks being spiked. Calling him “generous” and somebody who always paid for their lunches, the woman said, “He came across as he cared for me and it was nice. I never thought he would have made a physical move on me so I felt safe with him.”
On the day of the incident, the staff at Annabel's saw “rather strange actions” by Vikas Nath who was alone at the table at the moment.
The staff watched as Nath used a straw to take liquid from a bottle he was trying to hide and then dripped it into the woman's drink. They replaced her cocktail after alerting senior managers, before the matter was reported to the police.
The staff also alerted the woman that her drink had been spiked.
Prosecutor Tim Clark said, “Prior to the police arriving, Mr Nath clearly worked out that he had been rumbled. He tried to hide the evidence of what he had done, going to the lavatory and throwing that little bottle into the cistern, and it was floating about when police recovered it,” BBC reported.
In a police interview after the incident in January 2024, Vikas Nath said he had got the gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) as a cleaning fluid for a high-performance car, and had been told by a friend that it could also be drunk with alcohol as a "relaxant".
He told police he had not realised it was illegal for him to be in possession of GBL, a controlled Class B substance referred to as a date-rape drug due to its extreme effects when consumed.
The woman, shocked after being told what Vikas Nath was caught doing, had even tried to defend him.
“I remember vividly defending Mr Nath, saying 'There is no way he could do that'. I remember sending him a message saying 'I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening'. Because I felt it was my fault. I didn't want him in trouble, I didn't believe it,” she said.
