Why did Ragini delete her WhatsApp?
Actor Ragini Dwivedi being taken to the CCB office. She was arrested and grilled for more than four hours in connection with the drug case. The CCB had earlier carried out searches at Ragini Dwivedi's residence
Bengaluru: The CCB, which is probing the drug menace in the Kannada film industry, has intensified its investigation into drugs racket. In an early morning swooped down, the CCB team carried out searches at Kannada actor Ragini Dwivedi's Yalahanka apartment at 6.10 am.
The CCB sleuths conducted the searches at Ragini Dwivedi's apartment in the prime Judicial Layout in North-East Bengaluru for more than four hours to find out if banned drugs were hidden.
The search was conducted on a tip-off from Ragini's friend Ravi Shankar, a RTO official at Jayanagar, and who was arrested on Thursday evening for allegedly peddling drugs in the city. Seven CCB sleuths, including a woman police inspector raided Ragini's flat with a search warrant from a local court to find if banned drugs like marijuana (ganja), cocaine, cannabis or hashish were kept at her home. Searches were also conducted at Ragini's Indiranagar residence.
After more than four-hour search operation, the cops whisked her away in a car to the CCB office in Chamarajpet at around 10.15 am. "We have booked Ragini under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act," CCB ACP K P Gowtham said
According to sources, the actor had deleted her WhatsApp account from her mobile raising suspicion. Sources also revealed that Ragini had switched off one of her mobile phone and used another one.
It is also learnt that the cops have seized a laptop, the actor's apartment and car keys. As part of the preliminary interrogation, the CCB sleuths have grilled her on whether she consumed drugs, whether she has links with drug dealers and whether she knows Ravishankar. According to sources, Shankar is learnt to have attended rave parties with Ragini where drugs were used. Sources, however, said Ragini gave conflicting responses to the questions.
Even as the CCB sleuths were conducting search operations at Ragini's Yalahanka apartment in Judicial Layout, the actor's lawyers tried to enter the premises, but the cops denied them permission to do so. As the search operation was completed, the actor was allowed to meet her lawyers albeit for a short period.
"We have seized Ragini's 4 mobile phones and a laptop from her flat," Bengaluru joint commissioner of police Sandeep Patil said.