residence in Bengaluru,actress being questioned (Adds details) Bengaluru: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru, which is probing the drug menace in the Kannada film industry, carried out searches at actress Ragini Dwivedi’s residence here on Friday morning, police sources said. She was taken to the CCB office in the afternoon and is being questioned in connection with the drug case, according to the sources.
“The CCB obtained the search warrant from a court,” a police officer said. According to police sources, a team of CCB sleuths reached Dwivedi’s residence at about 6 am.
The CCB had served a notice to the actress on Wednesday, asking her to depose before them on Thursday, but she sent a team of lawyers seeking time till Monday. She was directed to appear before them on Friday.
“So far two persons have been arrested in this (drugs) case, Ravi and Rahul. We have taken up a case now. A case has been registered at the Cottonpet police station,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant told reporters. Ravi also known as K Ravishankar, a clerk in the Road Transport Office, was arrested on Thursday while Rahul, a realtor, was taken into custody today, the city police chief said.
Both of them used to go to high-end parties frequently and used to obtain drugs from foreign nationals, he said,adding that the two were peddlers and consumers. The actress was in close contact with Ravi, the police chief claimed.
According to him, the police have started the second level of investigation based on their revelations and accordingly other people have also been called for questioning. To a question on the raids at Ragini Dwivedi’s residence, Pant said the matter is under investigation.
“The CCB is investigating the matter. Only this much I can say at this juncture….,” Pant said. A court has sent Ravi,who has close acquaintances in the Kannada film industry, to police custody for five days, according to police.
The CCB intensified its investigation into a drugs haul in Bengaluru after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested three persons from the city, who were allegedly supplying drugs to singers and actors in the Kannada film industry, also known as “Sandalwood”. Filmmaker and journalist Indrajit Lankesh had given his statement to the CCB about drug abuse in Sandalwood.
He had also claimed that at least 15 people in the industry were involved in the drugs trade. Dwivedi, whose family hails from Haryana’s Rewari, was born in Bengaluru. She made her Sandalwood debut in the movie “Veera Madakari” in 2009.
She shot to fame for her role in Kempe Gowda, Ragini IPS, Bangari and Shiva.
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