NewDelhi: The top actors Rakul Preet Singh, Rana Daggubati and 10 other actorswill be questioned in the four-year-old drug case. Sources said the EnforcementDirectorate has summoned Rakul Preet Singh on September 6, Baahubali actor RanaDaggubati on September 8, Telugu actor Ravi Teja on September 9 and directorPuri Jagannath on September 31.
RakulPreet Singh, Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja or Puri Jagannath have not been madeaccused. "It is too early to say whether they are involved in moneylaundering," senior agency officials said.
In2017, the Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department had registered 12 casesafter drugs worth ₹30 lakh were seized.Chargesheet has been filed in 11 cases. Later the Enforcement Directoratestarted investigation from the angle of money laundering in the cases of theExcise Department.
TheTelangana Excise Department has so far arrested 30 people in the drugs case andquestioned 62 others. Eleven of those questioned are related to the filmindustry.
In thelast few years, several cases of drug smuggling have come to light inHyderabad.
Thelargest consignment was seized in July 2017. Large quantities of LSD andcocaine were seized from at least 13 people in raids in 2017.
TheExcise Department said that most of the school and college students areinvolved in using drugs. At least 26 schools and 27 colleges and parents werealso informed.
Thosearrested are said to be major suppliers of banned drugs to pubs, educationalinstitutions and rave parties in Goa and Hyderabad, which also have links toPune, Mumbai and Delhi. Officials said the dealers are well-educated and someof them are working in top companies. Six of those arrested are engineeringgraduates.