Telugu film director Puri Jagannadh appeared at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Hyderabad on Tuesday, August 31, after being summoned in connection with the sensational Tollywood drug case that rocked the industry four years ago. Last week, the ED summoned 10 persons connected with the Telugu film industry as part of a money laundering case linked to the drug case.
According to reports, Puri Jagannadh was summoned by the ED to probe financial transactions in the process of allegedly buying the drugs. The director arrived at the ED office at 10 am. Apart from Puri Jagannadh, actors Rakul Preet Singh, Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja, Charmee Kaur, Navdeep, Mumaith Khan and others connected to Tollywood were asked to appear before the ED between August 31 and September 22. The agency also summoned actor Tanish, Nandu and Ravi Teja's driver Srinivas.
The drug racket was being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department. However, recently, the ED issued notices under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), dealing with “Powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence, etc.” Reports suggest that the movement of drugs is being considered a scheduled offence under the PMLA, and therefore, falls under the jurisdiction of the ED.
Earlier, the SIT’s comprehensive probe resulted in 12 cases being registered, while 30 were arrested under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The probe investigated 62 individuals, including 11 who are connected with Tollywood. The drug racket came to light when Customs officials seized drugs worth Rs 30 lakh from Calvin Mascarenhas, a musician, and two others.
The SIT had collected blood, hair, nail and other samples from some of those who appeared before it for questioning and sent them for analysis. The SIT filed a chargesheet in eight out of the 12 cases. It, however, gave clean chit to the film personalities who were questioned as part of the investigation. Additionally, due to the delay in filing the chargesheets, most of the main accused in the case, including the main accused Calvin Mascarenhas, were released on bail. The chargesheet was accepted by a court in Hyderabad only in July 2021.
The Forum for Good Governance (FGG), a non-governmental organisation, had raised an objection at the time, stating that the investigation was being deliberately delayed due to the involvement of celebrities. In 2019, the NGO filed a series of applications under the Right to Information Act (RTI) to know the status of the probe and the action taken so far. It alleged that deliberate attempts were made to hush up the case. It said that while cases were registered against those who brought drugs to Hyderabad, no action was taken against the middlemen and consumers in the city.
The accused against whom cases were booked include Rafeal Alex Victor, a South African citizen, and Puttakar Ranson Joseph, who was working in the film industry as a manager. Joseph was the manager of leading actor Kajal Aggarwal and was sacked after his arrest. The NGO alleged that no attempt was made to trace the customers of the accused.
The authorities had recovered 3,000 blots of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), 105 grams of MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy), 45 grams of cocaine and other narcotic and psychotropic substances from the accused.