Bengaluru CCB raids former don Muthappa Rai’s son in Sandalwood drug case

The CCB raided the residence of Late Muthappa Rai, in Bidadi, Ramanagara district on the outskirts of Bengaluru and also a house in Sadashivanagar belonging to his son Ricky.

The Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Tuesday carried out searches at various premises belonging to Ricky Rai, the son of “reformed” don late Muthappa Rai in connection with the Sandalwood drug case.

The CCB raided the residence of Late Muthappa Rai, in Bidadi, Ramanagara district on the outskirts of Bengaluru and also a house in Sadashivanagar belonging to Rai. The police are investigating Ricky Rai’s alleged links with some of the absconding alleged drug peddlers.

Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), said “search warrant obtained and search conducted in Ricky Rai’s house in Cottonpet case. The search was conducted on information that he is supporting a few absconding accused.”

The police have so far arrested Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani, party organiser Viren Khanna and realtor Rahul Thonse in connection with the case.

Ragini and Sanjjanaa were remanded to judicial custody in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in the city. Ragini was arrested by the CCB police on September 4, Sanjjanaa was arrested on September 8 after the police raided their residence.

Earlier, filmmaker and journalist Indrajit Lankesh, while giving his statement to the CCB on the Kannada film industry drug scandal, claimed that at least 15 people in the industry were involved in the drug trade.

According to the police, a few key accused in the Sandalwood drug case, including Aditya Alva, son of late minister Jeevaraj Alva and the brother-in-law of Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi are at large. Earlier the police have issued a lookout notice against Aditya Alva.

In May this year, Muthappa Rai died after a battle with brain cancer in Bengaluru. Rai (68), a former bank clerk from Mangaluru who was one of the most notorious mobsters in the annals of crime in Bengaluru and Mangaluru, was extradited from Dubai in 2002 and acquitted in over a dozen cases in Karnataka in the subsequent years.

Years later, Rai founded a non-profit organisation ‘Jaya Karnataka’. He then became a realtor and entrepreneur.

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