‘Can’t control personal lives of people I work with’: Kajal Aggarwal on manager’s arrest

A day after her manager for Telugu cinema, Puttkar Ronson Joseph was arrested by the Hyderabad police for narcotics possession, Tollywood star Kajal Aggarwal released a statement distancing herself from the situation.

Ronson, also known as Johny Joseph or Ronnie, was arrested on Monday following a Special Investigation Team (SIT) raid on his residence.

Kajal declared in her statement that she is “shocked and appalled” by the entire incident. “I’m in zero support of this and any behaviour that is detrimental to the hygiene of our society,” read the statement uploaded on the actor’s Twitter handle.

The actor added, however, that she could not take responsibility for the actions of those with whom she has only a professional relationship. “… just because I care for people who run errands for me does not imply that I can control their personal lives/choices,” Kajal said in the statement.

“I’m unaware of their whereabouts and activities once their professional duties with regard to me are completed,” she added.

The drug bust by the enforcement wing of the Excise and Prohibition department in early July, has cast a growing shadow over Tollywood, with around 12 popular members of the fraternity asked to appear before the SIT in relation to the major investigation. Among those served notices by the SIT are well-known director Puri Jagannadh, cinematographer Shyam K Naidu, art director Chinna and actors Charmee Kaur, Ravi Teja, Navdeep, Tarun, Nandu, Tanish, Subbaraju and Mumaith Khan.

The case first came to light when three alleged drug dealers were arrested and 700gm of LSD worth Rs 20 lakh and 35gm of MDMA worth Rs 1.4 lakh were recovered. The drug ring that these dealers were a part of allegedly sold drugs not only to members of the film industry but also IT professionals and school children.

13 people have so far been arrested in the case, including a US citizen and Aerospace Engineer Dundu Anish.