Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi was arrested on Friday night for her alleged involvement in a drug syndicate in Bangalore.
Detectives from the central branch of crime, who questioned Ragini during the day about her alleged links to others involved in the drug trafficking case, arrested her after they searched her two homes in Bengaluru.
On Thursday, two suspected drug traffickers, Ravishankar and Rahul Shetty, were arrested by the CCB. Ravishankar, an employee of the Karnataka government transport department, was allegedly a close associate of Ragini and was summoned for questioning.
Ragini, 30, who has more than 25 films under his belt and won the SIIMA award eight years ago, had also consulted lawyers about the case. She had evaded questioning Thursday by citing illness. On Friday he appeared before the CCB.
Shetty, a well-known name in the Kannada film circle, is a close friend of another prominent actor, Sanjjanaa Galrani, who has performed in many South Indian languages. His role has also been investigated, although he said he only knew Shetty through movie networks.
“As far as I know, he is a good person, he has acted for small roles. If he has done something wrong, I don’t know why my name is getting mixed up in this,” Sanjjanaa said.
There are 12 people charged in the sou motu case that is being handled by the police in West Bengaluru. So far, four of the 12 have been arrested.
Another person arrested is Viren Khanna, who was detained by CCB inspectors in Delhi. He is supposedly a well-connected individual who throws big parties. Ravishankar was suspended from his government job.
“CCB has been working on this for the last month,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant told a news conference on Friday night.
The investigation has been based on inputs collected during the interrogation of the three, in addition to checking their telephone records. It is now expanding to the second layer of its networks, Pant said.
“They (Ravishankar and Rahul) acquired drugs from a foreign national. We have focused on that national as well. Certain information has been given on past incidents. Our officers are working on that,” Pant said.
.
