Drug racket probe: Kannada actor Ragini Dwivedi’s police custody extended by five days

Ragini Dwivedi’s name emerged after the police questioned film director Indrajit Lankesh, who claimed to have information on film personalities frequently using drugs at parties, sources said.

A court here on Monday extended by five days the police custody of actress Ragini Dwivedi, who was arrested last week in connection with an investigation into the drug menace in the Kannada film industry

“Today Ragini was produced to the Court and on the Central Crime Branch’s (CCB) request, the court has granted five days police custody of Ragini,” Bengaluru Joint Commissioner Sandeep Patil said in a statement.

The CCB police had presented Ragini before the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court through video conference after her police custody ended on Monday.

Meanwhile, as part of the investigation into the case, another accused identified as Niyaz was arrested by CCB police earlier today. Patil said that Niyaz hails from Kerala but has been living in Bengaluru for the last five years.

Following the NCB’s seizure of drugs in August, Kannada film director Indrajit Lankesh claimed to have information on several film personalities who frequently used drugs at parties. Ragini’s name emerged after the police questioned Lankesh, sources said.

So far, the police have arrested six people including Ragini Dwivedi, Niyaz, Ravi Shankar, Rahul, Viren Khanna, and Loum Pepper Samba, a suspected drug peddler, in connection with the Sandalwood drug case.

A top star in the Kannada film world, Ragini was recently involved in promoting cricket leagues like CCL and Karnataka Premier League, where she was a brand ambassador for the Ballari Tuskers team, owned by real estate businessman Arvind Reddy.

The CCB intensified its investigation into a drug 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”.

In his statement to the CCB, Lankesh claimed that at least 15 people in the industry were involved in the drug trade.

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