By: Parmesh jain

The Anti-Narcotics Wing of Central Crime Branch (CCB),Bengaluru on Friday arrested Kannada  Sandalwood actor Ragini Dwivedi in connection with its investigation into the alleged drug abuse in Kannada film industry.

The accused has been identified as, Ravishankar,Rahul Shetty,Ragini Dwivedi,and Viren Khanna.

Kannada film actor Ragini Dwivedi,whose home was searched on Friday morning for an investigation into drug abuse,has been arrested, the police said.

The actor was taken for questioning by CCB sleuths after conducing a search operation at two of her apartments in Yelahanka from around 6 am today.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) had served a notice to the actor on Wednesday, asking her to depose before them on Thursday, but she sent a team of lawyers seeking time till Monday.

However,the police raided Ms Dwivedi’s residence early this morning after getting a search warrant from a court and took her to the CCB office in the afternoon to question her,an officer said

Later in the evening, in a statement,Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said,Ragini Dwivedi has been arrested and taken into custody.He even said,in the search conducted morning, important materials were seized from Ragini Dwivedi house.

This is a big netwrok of drugs peddling and consumption.There are people like Viren Khanna who organise these high end parties and give a platform for drug consumption.Then there are celebraties and others who go there and consume like the film actress.Then the drug suppliers like Ravi and Rahul who supply the drugs bought through other drug peddlers,mostly foreigners.

We wil be arresting accused involved in all the 3 areas that is orgainsing parties,consumption and peddling.What was found in search has been sent to FSL and we are waiting for the FSL report 

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According to police,Viren Khanna is a big catch.”He (Khanna) is the main person who organises big parties where drugs are consumed.He was in Delhi and two CCB police inspectors,Sridhar Poojary and Lakshmikantaiah had gone to Delhi and arrested him,Mr Patil said.

Besides, the actor, two people named Rahul and Viren Khanna were arrested,he said.With this, four people have been arrested in the case.

The police had earlier said arrested one K Ravishankar, who has links within the Kannada film industry, in connection with the drugs case and a court has sent him to police custody for five days.

According to reports,Ragini was summoned to appear before CCB officials on Thursday. However, she failed to depose and sought time till Monday.Meanwhile, the CCB officials today searched her flats and her Innova car.

It is believed that Ravi and Ragini allegedly held parties and consumed drugs including cocaine, LSD and MDMA.

Ragini had applied for anticipatory bail but the hearing was postponed to Monday, September 7. Her application will now be treated as one for regular bail and she will be produced before a judge via video conference.She is expected to remain in CCB custody till Monday.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant told reporters, that the CCB began a probe into the case after the police seized a truck-load of marijuana in August.Upon interrogating the accused,the CCB learned that Ravi Shankar, a clerk at the Regional Transport Office in Jayanagar,was allegedly involved in procuring drugs and used to attend high end rave parties in Bengaluru.Ravi Shankar is a friend of actor Ragini Dwivedi.Many pictures and videos have surfaced on the media that show Ragini and Ravi at various parties.

We learned that the person working in the government office was related to someone in the film industry.While the CCB was investigating him (Ravi Shankar),we learned that he used to attend parties and provide drugs and also consume them,”Commissioner Kamal Pant added. 

The CCB arrested Ravi Shankar on Thursday after questioning him for six hours.The police seized his cellphone and found photos and other evidence of the people who attended these parties with him.After rigorous questioning,we learned that he was attending these parties and procuring drugs from various places.He has confessed to his activities and we are bringing in more people in connection with this case,Kamal Pant said. 

When asked about his connection with Ragini Dwivedi,Kamal Pant said that Ravi Shankar allegedly confessed to have been connected to her.He used to procure drugs from a foriegn national and we will arrest this individual soon, Kamal Pant added. 

Meanwhile,the CCB has also arrested a close associate of Sandalwood actor Sanjjana Galrani named Rahul.A real estate business man and architect,Rahul allegedly used to visit countries neighbouring India and procure synthetic drugs, which he allegedly procured for various parties, where several celebrities from the Kannada film industry also attended. 

We arrested Rahul and after investigation,we have learned that he used to go to other countries to procure drugs and also that he and several celebrities attended parties abroad too. We have not issued any notice to actor Sanjjana. The investigation has just begun and we will take this one step at a time,” Kamal Pant added. 

He even said we have taken suo motu cognisance of the issue and an FIR has been registered at Cottonpet Police Station naming Ravi Shankar and Rahul as prime accused in the drug case.   

Who is Ragini Dwivedi?

Ragini, whose family is from Haryana’s Rewari, was born in Bengaluru. She made her acting debut in 2009 with Veera Madakari.She has also starred in movies such as Kempegowda, Shiva, Bangari, Ragini IPS,Namaste Madam, among others.

What is the Karnataka drug abuse case?

The current drug scandal surfaced after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) conducted raids at the residences of three drug peddlers in Bengaluru last month.

The three persons, including former television actor Anikha D,a drug peddler named Ravindra and another man,Anoop Mohammed have since been arrested.

In fact,hundreds of MDMA pills were also seized from their residences.

Filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh claimed drug abuse in industry:

Ragini is the first celebrity to be taken into custody after film producer Indrajit Lankesh recently made claims about drug abuse in the industry. The filmmaker submitted a list comprising the names of 15 actors, musicians and directors who allegedly consumed drugs, to the CCB

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 said.

“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. The police directed her to appear before them on Friday. CCB sources said the actress will appear before the sleuths at 10 am.

In the meantime, the police said they have arrested one Ravi, who has close acquaintances in the Kannada film industry, in connection with the drugs case and a court has sent him to police custody for five days.

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.

The Karnataka cabinet, led by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, will meet on Thursday to discuss a range of issues.

BENGALURU: The Karnataka cabinet, led by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, will meet on Thursday to discuss a range of issues. While at least 28 listed topics are on the agenda, ministers are keen to discuss the DG Halli and KG Halli violence to propose a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI). In case the cabinet approves a proposal to ban the outfit, the state government will write to the Centre recommending a ban on the SDPI’s ideological arm. The cabinet is also scheduled to approve changes to at least 12 Acts, some that were introduced as ordinances, but need the Legislative Assembly’s approval. The cabinet will also discuss the possibilities of convening a sitting of Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council before September. Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act 2020, BDA (Amendment) Act, Karnataka Stone Crushers Regulation (Amendment) Act 2020, Karnataka Industries (Facilitation) (Amendment) Act and the Karnataka public services and civil services acts among others are some of laws that the cabinet is set to approve. Under the Revenue Department, amendments have been proposed to the Prevention of Land Grabbing Act, Land Grants Act and Land Reforms Act.

They urged the commissioner to release innocents if they have been picked up by police.

BENGALURU: A delegation of Muslim leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain, Shantinagar MLA N A Haris, MLC C M Ibrahim, Narasimharaja MLA Tanveer Sait, KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed and 28 other organisation heads submitted a memorandum to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant on Tuesday, petitioning that “innocents” should not be punished in connection with the Kaval Byrasandra riots.

They urged the commissioner to release innocents if they have been picked up by police.People there are living in great difficulty and are unable to get their daily needs because of the curfew-like situation. Police should provide details of those arrested to the families. No innocent person should be picked up.’’ MP Hussain said, “We condemn the vandalism and have asked police to take action against those who are really involved, and also relax curfew. We urged the government to probe the delay in registering an FIR.”

Congress and BJP leaders on Friday blamed each other’s parties for the violence in Bengaluru earlier this week. Congress spokesperson M Lakshman alleged that Tuesday’s violence was the handiwork of high-profile BJP leaders, aimed at unseating Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and covering up allegations of corruption in Covid-19 spending against his government.

He claimed that Naveen P, whose derogatory FB post allegedly triggered the violence, was an RSS worker and that his social media posts were proof of his allegiance to the BJP. Meanwhile, MLC AH Vishwanath said, “It is unfortunate that the Congress is attempting to politicise the issue. It is Congressmen who were responsible for vandalising MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s house, not the BJP. MLA Zameer Ahmed is visiting the houses of those arrested instead of calling on the legislator whose house was attacked. Did those people go to participate in a freedom struggle?” “Certain leaders are working hard to replace Yediyurappa with their loyalists, and instigated the issue. They are responsible for the wide coverage of the incident in national media to show the CM in a bad light.He also alleged that the BJP and Social Democratic Party of India — which has been blamed for the violence — were working in tandem. “The SDPI, which is the driving force behind the violence, is the BJP’s B team,” he said, adding that the BJP was indirectly promoting the party.

“There were outsiders in the mob, who gathered before the DJ Halli police station within no time and damaged it. They burnt down Anna’s house.

BENGALURU: Family feud and an alleged conspiracy to sabotage the career of the Pulakeshi Nagar Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy by his party rivals and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) are emerging as the possible reasons behind the burning down of his house, said sources.

The Tuesday attack on the DJ Halli police station and the MLA’s house in Kaval Byrasandra was led by “outsiders”, say residents of Devarajeevanahalli (DJ Halli,) who are yet to recover from the shock of the violence. “There were outsiders in the mob, who gathered before the DJ Halli police station within no time and damaged it.

He is like a family member to a majority of the people in this area,” said Munna, a DJ Halli resident. “We are supporters of ‘Anna’. How can we think of harming him?” asked cable operator Fairoz of Devara Jeevana Halli.

“Anna is a very popular politician. He does not differentiate between people on religion or financial status. We have always voted for him even when he was with the JD(S). We vote for Anna and not the party he represents,” said Fairoz. “On every Eid he stands at the Tannery Road Circle and wishes everyone. On Ganesha (Chaturthi) and St Mary’s feast, you can find him walking inside the narrow lanes, greeting people,” he said. 

As one speaks to more people in DJ Halli, voices in support of Murthy in the Muslim-dominated area get stronger and the alleged reasons behind the attack on his house become less opaque. A former JD(S) leader, he had joined the Congress in 2017 on a call from his mentor and former CM Siddaramaiah, Murthy told TNIE. In 2018, he defeated his predecessor Prasanna Kumar, who had contested the election on a JD(S) ticket.

“Some of his rivals in the party may have joined hands with the SDPI to discredit him even though the latter is the bete noire of Congress Muslim leaders,” said a local leader. The attack on Murthy may have been the handiwork of his rivals within the party and SDPI, which has a stronger organisational skill among the youths in the area. “The police investigation should reveal who funded the mob,” he said.

Surprisingly, regarding Murthy’s nephew P Naveen, who had allegedly posted some highly objectionable post on his Facebook page and said to be the reason behind the arson, the MLA’s supporters said that the latter had nothing to do with Naveen. “Anna is not on talking terms with Naveen. In 2015, Naveen had approached the MLA when he was with the JD(S) for a ticket for the BBMP election, but he refused. JD(S) had fielded Anna’s wife Shailaja from Ward 48. She lost the election.

Naveen has been holding a grudge against his uncle since then but has used his relationship for his vested interests,” said a local leader. Whether Naveen fell into the trap of the SDPI-Murthy’s rival combo and planned the coup against his uncle, or his Facebook post was hacked is being investigated by the police.

The Social Democratic Party of India, Karnataka, has condemned the blasphemous act, police firing and the alleged delaying tactics of the police in arresting the culprit for the post. Abdul Hannan, Gen Secretary of SDPI, Karnataka, claimed that the blasphemous post was by Naveen, the nephew of local Congress MLA Akhanda Sreenivas.

He said, “When complaints were filed at 7pm at the DJ Halli police station, the police inspector and ACP had asked them to wait for two hours. Even at 11.30pm, the police didn’t arrest Naveen. This led to the worsening of the situation. The police resorted to firing which took three precious lives. Had the police acted responsibly, the untoward incidents could have been avoided.” “Earlier, when a local youth had commented on social media, the police had arrested him within 10 minutes.

But in this case, the police played delay tactics under political pressure,” he alleged. Abdul Hannan said the SDPI condemns the police for unnecessarily dragging them into the incident. In fact, the SDPI leaders pacified the mob several times in the presence of police and local Ulemas, he said. He said the SDPI demands that Naveen be prosecuted and that ‘irresponsible’ police officers be suspended.

In a series of tweets, B Sriramulu said that he had a fever and he went for a test and the results said he was infected with coronavirus and prayed to “the almighty” for an early recovery

B Sriramulu is the fifth minister in Karnataka to have tested positive for coronavirus

Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu tweeted today that he has tested positive for coronavirus and is getting treated at a government hospital. This comes a week after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa tested positive for the novel virus.

In a series of tweets, the minister said that he had a fever and went for a test. He prayed to “the almighty” for an early recovery so that he could return to public work soon.

He has been admitted to the Bowring hospital in Bengaluru for treatment. He also shared a photo of him at the hospital.

Mr Sriramulu also said that there is no need to panic as he has come for treatment early.

He is the fifth minister in Karnataka to have tested positive for the virus.

Forest Minister Anand Singh, Tourism Minister CT Ravi and BC Patil have also been infected by the virus.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also tested positive for coronavirus. He is undergoing treatment for coronavirus infection at Manipal Hospital, where BS Yeddyurappa is also admitted.

Mr Yediyurappa had asked everyone who came in contact with him to be “observant” and self-quarantine.

Six staff members working in the office of the Karnataka Chief Minister tested positive for coronavirus a day later.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are other high-profile leaders who have tested positive for the deadly virus.

Karnataka is the fourth worst affected state in India with over 1.72 lakh coronavirus cases and 80,000 active cases.

A record single-day jump of 64,399 new coronavirus patients has taken India’s COVID-19 tally past the 21 lakh-mark, the Union Health Ministry said this morning, adding that over 14.8 lakh patients have recovered so far. A total of 43,379 deaths have been logged so far.