Hyderabad: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Telangana’s Excise Department, probing the Hyderabad drug racket, grilled actor Charmme Kaur for over six hours on Wednesday.
Charmme, with water bottle in one hand and waving at media persons with the other, left Abkari Bhavan, the office of Prohibition and Excise Department, around 5 pm but did not speak.
The questioning of Charmme, whose real name is Surdeep Kaur, began at 10 am and continued till the evening with lunch break. The actor refused to give her consent for drawing the samples of body fluid, hair and nails.
A four-member team including three women questioned the actor on her alleged links with Calvin Mascrenhas, the kingpin of the racket. She was also asked whether she takes drugs. The team, headed by Superintendent, Prohibition and Excise, K. Pavan Kumar, included three women – two inspectors and a sub-inspector. The women officers were included in the team on the directions of the Hyderabad High Court.
The court also asked the SIT not to collect Charmme’s blood, hair and nail samples without her consent. It, however, rejected her plea to allow the presence of her lawyer during the questioning. According to a statement from SIT, Charmme refused to give her consent for drawing the samples and thus they were not collected.
The officials understood to have gathered significant clues from Charmme, who was allegedly in touch with Calvin after the latter was introduced to her by director Puri Jagannadh. Earlier in the morning, there was commotion at Abkari Bhavan as Charmme reached there with bouncers.
The actor later complained to SIT officials about the alleged misbehaviour of a male police constable who had come very close to her. SIT took all precautions by deploying women constables when she was returning after the questioning.
Charmme is one of the 12 personalities from Tollywood summoned by the SIT for questioning in the drug racket which was busted here this month. The SIT has questioned seven celebrities including Charmme, actors Tarun and Navdeep and director Jagannadh after the SIT found their contact details in the call data of Mascrenhas.
Actor Mumaith Khan will appear before SIT on Thursday. Actor Ravi Teja and some others will be questioned this week.
The SIT has arrested 20 accused in the racket, which created a sensation following startling revelation that the peddlers sold drugs to students of several colleges and schools in Hyderabad, Tollywood celebrities and techies.
Telangana’s Excise Authorities arrested Mike Kaminga, a Dutch national on Tuesday night and narcotic substances was recovered from the 33-year-old.
Prohibition and Excise Department’s Director, Enforcement, Akun Sabharwal who is heading the probe, described it as an important arrest and that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was recovering key information from the accused in the case.
The Dutch national would be produced in the court, he added.
(Agencies)
