Sandalwood drug case: Ragini Dwivedi, Sanjjanaa Galrani to be grilled for 3 more days

Pratheek Shetty (centre), a suspected high-profile drug peddler, being escorted by Bengaluru police on Friday. DH PHOTO/S K DINESH

Kannada actresses Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani will be questioned in police custody for three more days, a court ruled on Friday, and also extended the custodial interrogation of four others arrested in the Sandalwood drugs scandal.

On Friday, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) produced Ragini, Sanjjanaa and four suspected drug peddlers — Rahul Thonse, Niyaz, Loum Pepper Samba and Prashanth Ranka — before the first additional chief metropolitan magistrate. Barring Sanjjanaa, the police custody of all the suspects ended on Friday. Sanjjanaa’s custody ends on Saturday (September 12).

Police produced them all before the court on Friday because September 12 is a second Saturday, a state government holiday. Police are bound by the law to produce a criminal suspect in the open court before his/her custody ends.

CCB inspector Puneeth Kumar and public prosecutor Sri Ram requested the court to extend the custodial interrogation of Ragini and Sanjjanaa by three more days, citing their “non-cooperation” in the investigation.

After hearing the arguments of prosecution and defence lawyers, the magistrate extended the police custody of the actresses and four others until September 14.

Since Ragini’s police custody was to end on Friday, CCB questioned her extensively before the court hearing. Apprehending that the court may not extend her custody, sleuths started questioning her in the early hours of Friday, CCB sources said.

They also questioned Sanjjanaa. CCB source said neither actresses cooperated in the investigation.

Techie-turned-drug peddler?

Meanwhile, the CCB arrested techie-turned-drug peddler Pratheek Shetty and party organiser Aditya Agarwal in the Sandalwood drugs case, which has been registered at the Cottonpet police station.

The CCB said Shetty was arrested under the NDPS Act in 2018, and 1.5 kg of cocaine and 1,930 MDMA pills were seized from him.

He, however, got bail last year and returned to peddling drugs, according to the CCB.

The CCB said Shetty had links with suspended RTO clerk and a close friend of Ragini’s, B K Ravi Shankar. Police believe Shetty supplied drugs to several film actors, VVIPs and businessmen.

Agarwal, a native of Haryana, is said to be an associate of Viren Khanna, who used to organise big parties attended by celebrities.

Agarwal, who works as a senior business analyst at a private firm in Bengaluru, has been arrested in the drug peddling case registered by Banaswadi police.

Police say Agarwal was in regular touch with drug peddlers. Police searched his house on Thursday but arrested him on Friday.

Khanna and Ravi Shankar were also arrested in the Banaswadi case. Curiously, none of them has been named in the Cottonpet case, in which the actresses have been named. In all, police have arrested eight people in the drugs saga.

FIR but no arrest

Kannada film producer Shiva Prakash, said to be a friend of Ragini’s, has been named in the Cottonpet FIR but not yet arrested. So were Aditya Alva, the son of former minister Jeevaraj Alva and the brother-in-law of Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi, and businessmen Vaibhav Jain, Prashanth Raju, Ashwin, Abhi Swami and Vinay.

Jain has tested positive for Covid-19 and promised to appear before the police once he recovered. However, he’s gone incommunicado and applied for anticipatory bail.