Ravi Teja gets SIT kick in drug case

​Hyderabad: Leading Telugu actor Ravi Teja on Friday appeared before Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Hyderabad drug racket. The SIT sleuths of Excise and Enforcement Directorate grilled Tollywood actor Ravi Shankar Raju Bhupatiraju alias Ravi Teja as part of the interrogation regarding the drugs case in the Abkari Bhavan.

It is learnt that the interrogation started at 10.30 am. The SIT officials are understood to have asked Ravi Teja how he had links with Kelvin and Jeeshan, main accused in the drug peddling case. The police asked Ravi Teja whether he had drug relations with his own brothers Bharath and Raghu.

They also reportedly asked how Kelvin was known to him and what work he had with Kelvin, where did he stay when he had no film shootings, what pubs he visited frequently, how long Puri Jagannath was known to him and whether SIT could take blood samples from him.

It is further learnt that the SIT sleuths asked Ravi Teja’s makeup man Srinivasa Raju to tell how he purchased three houses within one year. According to official sources, Ravi Teja was cooperating with SIT interrogation and he did not take lunch but had dry fruits.

Besides Ravi Teja, the SIT officials examined Syyed Younis and Taubeer Ahmed. On Saturday, the SIT sleuths will interrogate Srinivasa Raju from 10.30 am.

The actor reached Abkari Bhavan, the office of Prohibition and Excise Department, around 10 am. A four-member team of SIT officials began questioning the actor with regard to the racket busted in July. Like other actors grilled over last two weeks, Ravi was also questioned about his alleged links with the accused arrested in the case.

Popularly known as 'mass Maharaja' in film circles, Ravi was summoned for questioning after his contact number was found in the call data of Calvin Mascrenhas and Zeeshan Ali, the two key accused arrested in the case.

Ravi's mother last week denied the allegations that he uses drugs.He is the ninth Tollywood celebrity to be questioned in the case. SIT questioned actresses Charmme Kaur and Mumaith Khan during in the last two days.

The SIT, which has been probing into the drug case, is now gearing up for questioning more people soon. Based on the information gathered by the SIT officials during the interrogation of film actors, the Excise Department is understood to have prepared a second list of people who need to be questioned in the issue.

It is learnt that the second list consists of ten more prominent people from the film industry and notices to them would be issued next week.