Tollywood drug case: Actress Rakul Preet Singh appears before Hyderabad ED for questioning
She is the third Tollywood personality to appear before ED for questioning. Director Puri Jagannadh was the first to appear before the ED. He was followed by Charmee Kaur. Both were reportedly grilled for close to 10 hours on suspicious bank transactions.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 3 Sep 2021 4:20 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Tollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh on Friday appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hyderabad, for questioning in the alleged drug trafficking and consumption case.
It is to note that Rakul's name surfaced during the Bollywood Drug investigation following the untimely demise of actor Sushanth Singh Rajput.
She is the third Tollywood personality to appear before ED for questioning. Director Puri Jagannadh was the first to appear before the ED. He was followed by Charmee Kaur. Both were reportedly grilled for close to 10 hours on suspicious bank transactions.
The trio is among 10 Tollywood personalities who have been summoned by ED in the four-year-old drug trafficking and consumption case.
Actress Rakul Preet Singh was asked to be present on September 6. Later the date was preponed to September 3. Rana Daggubati and Ravi Teja have been asked to appear on September 8 and 9 respectively. Mumaith Khan has been asked to appear before the ED on September 15.
The case was filed by Telangana's Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2017. The SIT had filed 11 charge sheets in 12 cases booked mostly against small-time drug peddlers. Though Telugu cinema celebrities were summoned, not a single case was registered against them due to lack of evidence.
ED is investigating the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It is to note that ED first started a probe into the case on November 20, 2020, when it shot off a letter to the excise and prohibition department.
Pertinently, the drug case was put into cold storage for four years. ED's summons has once again brought the focus on the case which exposed the alleged drug cartel in the Telugu Film Industry.
A highly placed source told NewsMeter that investigation into the drug racket has gathered steam after the demise of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
