Flowerpots to kitchen to car, police search all at Sanjjanaa's house

Police outside Sanjjanaa Galrani’s house in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, on Tuesday. DH PHOTO

An elaborate search of Kannada actress Sanjjanaa Galrani’s house preceded her arrest by the CCB on Tuesday.

A CCB team comprising police inspector Puneeth Kumar and Anjumala T Nayak rushed to the actress’ house in Indiranagar, East Bengaluru, 6.30 am. They seized the phones of Sanjjanaa's family members and searched every corner of the flat, including flowerpots, kitchen, Sanjjanaa’s room and balcony. They extended the search to her cars.

“We’ve seized a laptop, a hard disk, two of (Sanjjanaa’s) mobile phones and other materials. After a four-and-a-half-hour search, we detained her around 11 am and took her to CCB office,” said officials.

A few days ago, Sanjjanaa’s friend Rahul Thonshe was arrested. Based on his statement and that from the other accused, officials raided her house.

When Thonse, an architect and a businessman, was arrested, Sanjjanaa told the reporters that he was her ‘Rakhi brother’ and an innocent person. But she claimed she had nothing to do about his links to the drug mafia.

While initially cooperative, Sanjjanaa began arguing with the officials. She told police she would have appeared before them had they served a notice on her, saying there was no need for the raid.

She also complained that her mother was aged and has health issues. She said she was disturbed over recent developments.

She asked the police to leave her house and assured she would follow them in her car. But police took her in their SUV.

Sanjjanaa was taken to the CCB office around 11.30 am where she was questioned for three hours about her connections to Thonse and materials seized in her house during the search. Around 3 pm, officials took her to KC General Hospital in Malleswaram and subjected her to a medical test, including for Covid-19.

After her Covid report came negative, officials produced Sanjjanaa before the 8th ACMM court.

Around 4 pm, she was produced before the judge, when officials requested for Sanjjanaa’s police custody for eight days.

She was sent out of the court at 4.10 pm. She spoke to her advocates for some time and waited in the SUV.

The court ordered her police custody at 4.30 pm. She was accused number 14 in the case registered at Cottonpet police station under the NDPS Act. From the court, Sanjjanaa was taken to State Women’s Home near Nimhans, where Ragini Dwivedi has already been lodged since the day of her arrest.

Sanjjanaa and Ragini will spend time in the same room with tight police security. The actresses reportedly do not have a good understanding between them.

Ragini, taken into police custody for the second time on Monday, had a relief from the interrogation on Tuesday till evening.

Puneeth Kumar and Anjumala T Nayak, the officials who raided Sanjjanaa’s house, are also in charge of interrogating Ragini. The two officials had also conducted searches of Ragini’s house.

Both actresses will be interrogated separately on Wednesday.

Right from the time police detained Sanjaanaa, her parents Reshma and Manohar Galrani went from the CCB office to the court and later to the State Women’s Home.

Later, speaking to the media persons, Reshma said nothing had happened by God’s grace and her daughter would come out clean in the case.

It is police procedure to question when her friend was arrested and Sanjjanaa had no role in the drug case, Reshma insisted.