Sandalwood drug case: Go after investors of dance bars, microbreweries in Bengaluru, HD Kumaraswamy tells govt

Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday said the ongoing investigation into the high-profile drug racket will slip into “cold storage” if the government failed to go after those who have invested in dance bars and microbreweries in Bengaluru.

“You’ll know the fate of the investigation in another 15 days...if it is limited to drug peddlers, then it’ll go into cold storage. It’ll be like any other investigation,” Kumaraswamy told reporters.

“Forget casinos, the root of the drugs business is in the dance bars and the kind of place (media) is showing in Hebbal,” he said.

“The dance bars...in Le Meridien, it used to happen till 4 am. We’ve seen girls fallen on the footpath. On Vittal Mallya Road, there’s a microbrewery in a corner. Who has invested in these dance bars and microbreweries? That needs to be investigated,” he said.

“If an honest investigation effort is done, only then can it be taken to its logical end,” the JD(S) leader said. Kumaraswamy repeated his claim that money from the “cricket betting and dance bars” mafia was used to topple the Congress-JD(S) coalition that he headed.

“After I became the CM, cricket betting and dance bars were active till 3-4 am. I asked officials to take action against them and there were raids also,” he said.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah asked the government for a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge on the drug racket. He said the police were acting as “puppets” of the government.

“I asked the police why only some people have been arrested. They say others are absconding. I won’t rule out the possibility of the government exerting pressure on the police to not act,” Siddaramaiah said.