Ragini's friend Ravi revealed many links in drug racket

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested got more leads from Ragini's friend Ravi Shankar's mobile phone and statements he made since his arrest and after he was remanded to five-day police custody for interrogation.

"Shankar explained in detail to our team about his activities. He revealed many other connections. Based on his revelations, we have initiated a second layer of investigation into the drug links of the Kannada film industry," Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant told reporters here.

"We have arrested Rahul Shetty, a real estate agent, for peddling drugs to Kannada film actors and musicians at rave parties in the city on leads we got while investigating the drug links in the Sandalwood industry. Preliminary investigations revealed that many among the high and rich are involved in drug peddling and consuming. Shankar and Shetty also supplied drugs to a foreign national on whom we have zeroed in," added Pant.

Shetty is the second peddler to be held after another accused Ravi Shankar was arrested on Thursday for allegedly supplying drugs to Sandalwood (Kannada film industry) actors at rave or late night parties in the city."Investigation into the drug links of the Sandalwood has been going on for over a month now. Seizure of drugs in another case led us to Shankar, who is an official in the state road transport office (RTO) in the city's upscale Jayanagar suburb," Pant said.

The CCB sleuths are also questioning a few others who are suspected to be involved in supplying narcotics to Sandalwood people and other addicts.

"The city police secured Ravi Shankar's custody from a local court for five days for interrogation to ascertain to whom all he supplied the banned drugs," Patil said on Thursday.

Ragini is the first Kannada film actor to be summoned by the CCB after Indrajit Lankesh on August 29 alleged that actors and musicians were consuming banned drugs during shooting sessions and at rave parties organised by various people.

Lankesh's startling revelations about the rampant abuse of banned drugs in the multi-crore film industry came three days after the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) busted a drug trafficking racket in the city and arrested former Kannada television actress D. Anikha and two of her accomplices, R. Ravindran and M. Anoop, on August 26.

The central agency also seized a huge cache of drugs from the accused, including 145 ecstasy or MDMA pills and Rs 2.2 lakh in cash from the Royal Suites Hotel Apartment in the city's northeast suburb on August 21 and more pills in a follow-up raid last week.

The drug racket is suspected to supply recreational and party drugs to Kannada actors, children of VIPs, students and others. "Noted musicians and actors in the Kannada film industry are under the scanner after their links to drugs came to light," an NCB official had said earlier.