Tollywood drugs case: ED summons actresses Rakul Preet Singh, Charmi Kaur, Ravi Teja and Rana Daggubati, action taken in 2017 drugs case

Actors Rana Daggubati (left), Ravi Teja (left) and Rakul Preet Singh have also been interrogated in the drug related cases.

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned 10 actors, including actress Rakul Preet Singh, actors Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja and Charmi Kaur, for questioning in the four-year-old Hyderabad Tollywood drugs case. Let us inform that the team of Narcotics Control Bureau, which probed the drugs angle in Sushant’s death case from Rakul Preet Singh, has also been interrogated. However, Rakul has not been made an accused in that case.

According to information received from sources, Rakul Preet Singh has been summoned on September 6, Rana Daggubati on September 8 and Ravi Teja on September 9 at the ED office in Hyderabad. ED has summoned Tollywood’s top director Puri Jagannath on August 31. Apart from this, Ravi Teja’s driver Srinivas and an unidentified person working as GM of “F’ Club have also been summoned. They have been summoned to appear from 2nd to 22nd September.

Officers who gave clean chit were also summoned
The ED has also summoned the officials of the Excise Department, who investigated the case, for questioning. Interestingly, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Excise Department did not take action against the Tollywood actors due to lack of evidence, however, all were interrogated. The Excise Department had not filed any chargesheet against him indirectly giving him a clean chit.

Excise department has filed charge sheet in 11 cases
In 2017, Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department had registered 12 cases after seizure of drugs worth 30 lakhs. Several drug smugglers were arrested in this case, out of which chargesheets have been filed in 11 cases. A total of 8 people were made accused in this case, most of whom were courier boys delivering drugs. Later, after getting information about the illegal transaction of money, the Enforcement Directorate entered the case and investigation is being done by registering a case of money laundering.

Hair and nail samples were taken from 62 people
The SIT probing the matter had collected hair and nail samples of 62 suspects, including Tollywood celebrities, in July 2017, but nothing has been disclosed by the SIT. In the same case, a charge sheet was filed against South African national Rafael Alex Victor for smuggling cocaine from Mumbai to Hyderabad and selling it in Hyderabad. Rafael was arrested in August 2017. In most cases, chargesheets were filed against African nationals who were low-ranking traffickers. When the SIT questioned the accused during the investigation, all the actors had denied the role.