Puri first to face SIT

​Hyderabad: Probe into the sensational drug case is set to begin from Wednesday. Popular film director Puri Jaganath will be the first one to be questioned. According to Excise and Prohibition Director Akun Sabharwal, barring Mumaith Khan all other would be appearing before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) between July 19 and July 28.

The officials could not serve notices on Mumaith Khan who is said to be currently participating in Big Boss programme in Mumbai. Talking to media, Sabharwal said, “We have given notices to a few persons who we think are involved in drug and substance abuse.

The SIT would be probing into the case from all angles and those found guilty would be punished. The department had served notices to about 12 film personalities based on the call list they found from Calvin Mascarenhas, the mastermind behind the LSD drug racket that penetrated schools and colleges and Tollywood.

Personal mobile phone numbers of these film personalities were also found in the mobile phones seized from Calvin.

Taken aback by this sudden turn of events, the film personalities are busy consulting their advocates and are said to be rehearsing as to how they should face the probe. The SIT will question them to find out if they had ever consumed drugs and if so from where they used to buy their stocks from. What kind of drugs they are used to and for how long, their links with Calvin and how their names figure in call data of Calvin.

According to sources, all those who received notices are preparing themselves to answer the questions to be posed by the sleuths when they would be facing from Wednesday. It is learnt that they have been told by their legal advisors that any kind of fumbling in the real-life script could land them in trouble. They have been told about the legal position with regard to punishment for consuming drugs and peddling.

In the meantime, on the eve of SIT taking up questioning of film stars the Prohibition and Excise Department has taken up massive reshuffle of officers with an aim to rooting out growing corruption in the department.

Following intelligence reports that the officials working for long years at a same location are indulging in corrupt practices, the government on Tuesday affected transfer of 196 officials in the rank of Circle Inspectors and 26 Assistant Excise Superintendent in the prohibition department.

However, the government put on hold the transfer of officials in the rank of Excise Superintendent and Assistant Commissioners as Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao instructed the Excise Commissioner RV Chandravadan to submit a fresh report on the credentials of each official before transfer and posting them to other places.

The government had recently received complaints that many officials were colluding with liquor traders and ID (illicitly distilled) liquor mafia and helped them to go scot-free even after they violated the rules, including MRP violation and sale of ID liquor in some remote areas in the state.