Bengaluru crime branch arrest Sandalwood actress Ragini Dwivedi in drug scandal

Bengaluru: After grilling her for over six hours, the City Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths arrested Sandalwood leading actress Ragini Dwivedi on Friday evening, in connection with drug links that has rocked Kannada film industry.

Earlier in the evening, the CCB also arrested Rahul, a friend of another Sandalwood actress Sanjana Gulrani.

Ragini is the third person to be arrested in connection with the Sandalwood Drug Link and the first Kannada actress to be arrested.

Two lawyers also came to her flat in Yalahanka and later to the CCB office. They also approached the court seeking anticipatory bail for Ragini. However, by evening, the court dismissed the anticipatory bail. The CCB sleuths decided to arrest her and seek police custody for further interrogation. Besides, there is no way Ragini can get bail till Monday.

Apart from this drug link, Ragini's name was also dragged in 2017, when a drug peddler called Pratheek Shetty was arrested. However, it remained as a rumor and Ragini got away with it. On Friday, Ragini was also questioned with regard to the 2017 case.

Earlier, CCB continued questioning Rahul, who is a relative of Ragini's boyfriend Ravi Shankar, who worked with Karnataka Transport Department. After arresting him, police took him to the house of Sanjana in Indiranagar, but they did not question her.

Meanwhile, Karnataka government on Friday suspended Ravi Shankar from their services, after he was arrested in the drug link case.

In another development, CCB sleuths arrested a drug supplier called Viren Khanna from his residence in New Delhi. The name of Khanna cropped up during interrogation of Ravi Shankar and the police team had already left for New Delhi on Thursday.

Khanna was produced before court in New Delhi and taken into four-day police custody. Police said that Khanna used to organise big parties where drugs used to be supplied. He is being brought to Bengaluru for further questioning.