"we learned that he used to attend parties and provide drugs"
On September 4, 2020, Bengaluru police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested actress Ragini Dwivedi in connection to a drugs case.
It was reported that the actress was questioned for nearly seven hours.
An FIR was previously registered against one of Ragini’s friends. Another suspect who was named is a friend of model Sanjjana Galrani.
Ragini had applied for anticipatory bail, however, the hearing was postponed until September 7, 2020. She currently remains in custody.
Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said that the CCB began started investigating the case after officers seized a truck-load of marijuana in August 2020.
The suspect was questioned and revealed that a man named Ravi Shankar was involved in procuring drugs and used to attend high-end parties in Bengaluru.
It was discovered that Ravi and Ragini were friends. Many pictures show the two at various parties.
Commissioner Pant said: “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.”
Ravi was arrested on September 3. Police also seized his phone and found evidence of other people who attended the parties with him.
Commissioner Pant added: “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.”
According to the commissioner, Ravi confessed that he had connections to Ragini Dwivedi.
“He used to procure drugs from a foreign national and we will arrest this individual soon.”
Videos on social media have captured Ragini being taken into the CCB office.
#RaginiDwivedi questioning continues as she is asked about links to a drug racket. Allegation is that MDMA(ecstasy) was rampantly used in high profile parties at her Yelhanka residence. @thenewsminute @dhanyarajendran @thejaram92 pic.twitter.com/08qqRh04sp
— Pooja Prasanna (@PoojaPrasanna4) September 4, 2020
Ragini started her film career in 2009 and went on to act in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films.
Meanwhile, the CCB also arrested a friend of actress and model Sanjjana Galrani named Rahul.
He was a real estate agent who allegedly visited countries bordering India and procure synthetic drugs. He would allegedly provide them for parties where celebrities from the Kannada film industry attended.
Commissioner Pant said: “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.”
Police have subsequently named Ravi and Rahul as the prime accused in the drug case.
On September 4, Karnataka Tourism Minister CT Ravi said that individuals associated with the drugs mafia were trying to intimidate the police.
He said that state government would not hesitate to prosecute these individuals.
He explained: “Drug mafia is not something that came into being now.
“It has been there for a long time but there have been no actions taken in the past to get to the root of the issue and to eliminate the entire mafia.
“Our government is committed to eliminating the drug mafia.
“Members of the drug mafia are trying to influence the current investigation and our government is committed to bringing everyone involved to book.”