Vivek Oberoi’s brother-in-law Aditya Alva arrested in Sandalwood drugs case

In a fresh development in the Sandalwood drugs case, actor Vivek Oberoi’s brother-in-law Aditya Alva was arrested by officials of the Bengaluru crime branch from Chennai on Monday night. Aditya, who is the son of late Janata Party leader Jeevaraj Alva, is accused number six in the Sandalwood drug case and had been absconding for months.

“Aditya Alva, who was absconding for over four months was arrested on Monday night. We were involved in a continuous operation to arrest him. We received a tip that he was in Chennai after which a team arrested him,” Joint Commission of Police (Crime-1), Sandeep Patil told TNM. Aditya Alva was arrested from a resort located between Chennai and Mahabalipuram. CCB sources said that the investigators were tracking mobile phone locations of persons close to Aditya Alva and that they had compiled a list of people, who he was in contact with regularly. Sources said CCB Inspector Puneet received information of his whereabouts after which an operation to arrest him was planned and carried out. 

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths have brought Aditya Alva to Bengaluru and he is currently being questioned at the CCB’s office in Chamarajpet in Bengaluru. Police sources said that he would be produced before the special court for NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) cases later in the day. 

Aditya has been accused of hosting parties at his farmhouse in the outskirts of Bengaluru, and police suspect that banned and narcotic drugs were supplied and consumed during the parties. The police had been looking for Aditya for over four months now. 

CCB sources had earlier revealed that Aditya Alva and one of the prime accused in the case, party organiser Viren Khanna, had allegedly hosted parties together. While Aditya is accused of providing space for the parties at his resort House of Life in Hebbal, the CCB claimed that Viren Khanna was involved in organising and driving high-profile persons to these parties. The CCB had earlier in September conducted a search operation at House of Life and seized several documents. 

Aditya’s sister Priyanka had also earlier been summoned by the police in connection with Aditya’s location. However, Priyanka failed to acknowledge the summons and did not appear before the CCB.

Aditya was among the 17 people who are booked in the case in which actors Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani have been arrested.

Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court denied Aditya Alva’s plea to quash the FIR registered against him at the Cottonpet Police Station in connection with the drug case. The apex court also denied Alva’s plea to procure anticipatory bail. Aditya’s legal counsel Nishanth Patil had earlier filed an anticipatory bail plea in the Karnataka High Court, which was also denied. 

The Kannada film industry has been under the scanner of the police for drug-related offences after the police and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) nabbed an international drug trafficking racket in multi-city raids in August 2020.