The Central Crime Branch on Thursday made its first arrest in the drug racket that allegedly has links to the Kannada film industry. The accused Ravi Shankar, a second division assistant, is a close associate of actor Ragini Dwivedi, said a senior police officer.
The anti-narcotics wing of the CCB had issued a notice to the actor on September 2 to appear before them for questioning. “However, she did not report to the station citing ill health, and a second notice has been issued to her to appear for questioning on Friday,” said a police officer. Her name cropped up during the course of investigation on the involvement of actors and singers in the Kannada film industry.
Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police, said: “Ravi has been arrested for links with dealers and involvement in drug peddling.”
According to Mr. Patil, since Wednesday, the anti-narcotics wing has detained 20 peddlers who had previous cases. Suspects include a hotelier and an event manager who owns a casino in Sri Lanka with close ties to film stars.
Five-day custody
Ravi has been remanded in five days of police custody.
Meanwhile, actor Indrajit Lankesh reportedly submitted evidence on the racket. He, too, had been issued summons by the CCB when he announced that he was aware of the nexus between people in the film industry and those in the drug trade. At the time, he claimed drugs worth ₹4 crore were sold during lockdown.
City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant on Thursday evening visited the CCB head office to get updates on the progress of the investigation.
