The Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru, on Tuesday morning, conducted a search operation at Sandalwood actor Sanjjanaa Galrani’s residence in the city in connection with the continuing high profile drug bust case. This after the CCB had carried out a similar search at the Yehalanka residence of Kannada film star Ragini Dwivedi on Friday morning in connection with the same case.
CCB sources said that actor Sanjjanaa’s house in Indiranagar was searched after information from one of the arrested accused -- Rahul Shetty. Sanjjanaa and Rahul allegedly attended private parties at various casinos in neighbouring countries. “Rahul Shetty has confessed to organising parties and also procuring drugs for these parties. We are searching her house currently. Another party planner from Mangaluru, Pruthvi Shetty was questioned and based on information search warrant was procured,” the CCB source added.
The CCB said that Pruthvi Shetty and Sanjjanaa used to organise private parties through Pruthvi’s event management company. The CCB is currently looking into Sanjjanaa’s financials.
Sources said that two mobile phones have been seized and Sanjjanaa has not been taken into custody yet. The CCB officials have been seen taking materials required for a panchnama at around 8:30 am, even as questioning of Sanjjana continued.
Simultaneous raids were also being conducted at the residence of Viren Khanna, the party planner, who was arrested on Friday. Viren was arrested by the CCB in New Delhi.
Sanjjanaa had spoken out on Monday regarding her name doing rounds in the drug case on news channels, claiming that she had nothing to do with the case.
Sanjjana Galrani is a multilingual actor who has acted in over 45 films, predominantly in Kannada and Telugu. Her younger sister, Nikki Galrani, too is an actor who has acted in over 25 Tamil and Malayalam movies.
Currently actor Ragini Dwivedi is in police custody for five days after she had faced arrest on Friday itself for reportedly failing to cooperate with the police.
As reported earlier, police had been making arrests of alleged drug suppliers to these celebrities who in turn were allegedly selling drugs within the Kannada film circles.
The Kannada film circle had come under scrutiny for drug use after the Narcotics Control Bureau nabbed an international drug trafficking racket in multi-city raids earlier in August. As part of these raids, huge cache of drugs were recovered from upscale gated communities in Bengaluru. At that time, sleuths had arrested one Anikha D who confessed to the police of having multiple Kannada film celebrities as part of her customer base.
Sanjjanaa’s name had surfaced in this case with the arrest of one of her friends Rahul who used to visit countries neighbouring India and allegedly procure synthetic drugs. Police have said that it was through Sanjjanaa that he used to push these drugs into high profile parties.
Those arrested so far in the drug case include one government employee posted at the Regional Transport Office in Jayanagar, Ravi Shankar. Shankar is a friend of Ragini’s through which she used to procure drugs and further sell it to others, according to police.