Bengaluru Drug Case: Two More Sandalwood Actors Under Radar

Sandalwood drugs case: Police summon Kannada actor- couple Aindrita Ray, Diganth

Bengaluru: Two more Sandalwood actors have been summoned by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru for questioning in connection with the drug scandal rocking Karnataka.

Officials at the CCB said the husband-wife duo Diganth Manchale and Aindrita Ray have been issued summons to appear at the CCB office at 11 am Wednesday. 

While Aindrita had made her debut in Sandalwood with Jackpot in 2006, the two worked together in 2008 film Meravanige. The couple got married in 2018 after a decade of courtship.

While Ragini Dwivedi who was arrested first is now in the Parapana Agrahara Jail, her colleague Sanjjanna Galrani is currently in police custody.

Meanwhile, the CCB Tuesday raided a resort owned by Aditya Alva, son of late Karnataka minister Jeevaraj Alva and brother-in-law of Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi. He is an accused in the drug scandal.

The raids were carried out at the ‘House of Life‘ in Bengaluru which is a sprawling property with a bungalow spread over 4 acres of prime land. It is here that high profile parties were reportedly hosted in which drugs were allegedly consumed and trafficked.

Evidence in the form of CCTV footage has been extracted from the raids. Aditya has been absconding and the police suspect that he is likely to be in Mumbai. He has been unreachable on his phone for the last 10 days since he was being hunted by the police. Efforts are on to nab him, the police said.

READ MORE Bengaluru Drug Case: CCB Hunt For Key Flats

In a related incident, the Congress released pictures of Revenue Minister R Ashoka with Rahul Thonshe, one of the kingpins in the drug case.

In a tweet, the state Congress said, “The pictures of R Ashoka with drugs scandal kingpin Rahul Thonshe suggests that it was not a casual meeting, but a close association. There is a need for leaders from the ruling BJP, who are making allegations against those from other parties to cover up their scandals, to be made to face inquiry first.”

Ashoka in response said the photo might have been taken four years ago and since the coronavirus outbreak, he had not attended any such events.

The Congress and the BJP have been digging into the past and releasing pictures of the accused with leaders as tit for tat. Earlier, photographs of actor Ragini Dwivedi campaigning for the BJP in the 2019 Karnataka Assembly bye-elections were shared widely. Ragini was campaigning for BJP MLA Narayana Gowda in the elections. Then, BJP released pictures of Sanjjanna and Ragini Dwivedi with various Congress leaders.

READ MORE Bengaluru Drug Racket: Politicians, Film Personalities Involved?