The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru, which is probing the drug menace in the Kannada film industry, on Friday arrested film actress Ragini Dwivedi along with two more persons, police said.
"Ragini Dwivedi has been arrested and taken into custody," Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said in a statement.
But who is Ragini Dwivedi?
The actor’s family belongs to a small town named Rewari in Haryana. She was born in Bengaluru. Ragini used to be a celebrated star in the Kannada film industry but she has also worked in the Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu film industries.
She had made her debut with the film "Veera Madakari" in 2009. She shot to fame for her role in 'Kempe Gowda', 'Ragini IPS', 'Bangari' and 'Shiva' and has worked with star Mammootty in the 2012 Malayalam movie ‘Face2Face’.
Before stepping into the acting world, Ragini was crowned the runner-up at the Femina Miss India contest in 2008. She has also been a model for fashion designers like Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal and Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
But, more recently, she was involved in promoting cricket leagues like CCL and Karnataka Premier League, where she was a brand ambassador for the Bellary Tuskers team owned by real estate businessman Arvind Reddy.
Ragini was last seen in the 2019 Kannada film Adyaksha in America. This was her 25th film.
The Curious Case of Ragini Dwivedi
Besides, the actress, two people named Rahul and Viren Khanna were arrested, it said.
Police had arrested another person, K Ravishankar on Thursday. With this four people have been arrested in the case.
The CCB had earlier carried out searches at Ragini Dwivedi's residence here this morning, police sources said.
She was taken to the CCB office in the afternoon and was questioned in connection with the drug case.
Later, in the evening she was arrested and taken into custody, the sources added. According to police, Viren Khanna is a big catch.
"He (Khanna) is the main person who organises big parties where drugs are consumed.He was in Delhi and two CCB police inspectors had gone to Delhi and arrested him," Patil said.
He has been taken into police custody for four days, he added.
Ravi also known as K Ravishankar, a clerk in the Road Transport Office, was arrested on Thursday while Rahul, a realtor, was taken into custody today, Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant said.
Both of them used to go to high-end parties frequently and used to obtain drugs from foreign nationals, he said,adding that the two were peddlers and consumers.
The actress was in close contact with Ravi, the police chief claimed. According to Pant, police have started the second level of investigation based on their revelations and accordingly other people have also been called for questioning.
The CCB had raided Ragini Dwivedi's residence early morning today after obtaining a search warrant from a court, a police officer said.
The CCB had served a notice to the actress on Wednesday, asking her to depose before them on Thursday, but she sent a team of lawyers seeking time till Monday.
The police rejected her plea and directed her to appear before them on Friday.
The CCB intensified its investigation into a drugs haul in Bengaluru after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested three persons from the city, who were allegedly supplying drugs to singers and actors in the Kannada film industry, also known as "Sandalwood".
Filmmaker and journalist Indrajit Lankesh had given his statement to the CCB about drug abuse in Sandalwood.
He had also claimed that at least 15 people in the industry were involved in the drugs trade.
Dwivedi, whose family hails from Haryana's Rewari, was born in Bengaluru.
She made her Sandalwood debut in the movie "Veera Madakari" in 2009. She shot to fame for her role in 'Kempe Gowda', 'Ragini IPS', 'Bangari' and 'Shiva'.
Before stepping into the acting world, Ragini was crowned the runner-up at the Femina Miss India contest in 2008. She has been a model for fashion designers like Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal and Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
(With PTI Inputs)
