Drug case takes twists & turns

Enforcement Director Akun goes on 10-day leave

​Hyderabad: The drugs case involving film personalities is taking several twists and turns. While the Prohibition and Excise Enforcement Department has sent notices to 12 film personalities asking them to appear before the Special Investigation Team from July 19 to 27, Enforcement Director Akun Sabharwal on Friday said that he was going on a 10-day leave from Saturday.

This announcement has raised many an eyebrow. Though Sabharwal dismissed it saying that it was just a coincidence and that he had applied for leave about two weeks ago as he has to attend to certain things in view of his mother’s demise two months ago, the reason for leave does not sound convincing, say some officials.

The government could have asked him to postpone his travel, given the importance of the ongoing investigations. Notwithstanding Akun Sabharwal’s claim that there was no pressure and the government was fully supportive of the probe, it is said the government wanted him to be away for some time, particularly when the film industry personalities appear before the SIT.

This theory also gains ground in view of the fact that the proposed meeting with the managements of some educational institutions which was to be held on Friday was cancelled.

Earlier, the Prohibition and Excise Department had sent letters to the managements of some reputed institutions after some of its students were found to be substance abusers. In those letters, the department asked the managements to depute officials for the meeting to discuss the strategy to fight drug menace.

However, Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari expressed his ire against the IPS officer for disclosing the names of schools and scheduling a meeting with the managements and Akun Sabharwal went on leave on health grounds. It is being said that the government has bowed before the powerful lobby of the private schools managements and got the meeting cancelled.