A day after raiding his residence, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Wednesday questioned Ricky Rai, the son of the former underworld don-turned-social activist late Muthappa Rai, in connection with a drug racket.
“We summoned him for questioning again to ascertain the whereabouts of Aditya Alva, one of the key accused who is absconding. We believe Ricky had given shelter to the accused,” said a senior CCB official.
The CCB has confiscated Ricky’s phone for technical analysis in the hope that the data will shed some light on their probe. The police suspect him of being in touch with some of the accused in the drug peddling racket and attending parties they had organised.
“The main focus of the investigations right now is to track down Shiva Prakash, the prime accused in the drug case, Sheikh Faazil and Aditya Alva. They are crucial to the case,” the official added.
Alva, who is the son of the late minister Jeevaraj Alva, and others have been accused of organising parties and facilitating the sale and use of drugs. Many of the accused were regular visitors to the farmhouse of Alva where parties were organised on weekends, claim the CCB.
On Tuesday, CCB officials reached Ricky’s apartment at Sadashiva Nagar. His car, which was parked in the garage, was also searched, said sources. A police team went to Bidadi to search another house of Muthappa Rai where they questioned employees to get information on the absconding accused.
