Malayalam scriptwriter-director Najeem Koya has revealed that the Excise Department raided the hotel room in Erattupetta in the Kottayam district. He was staying in the hotel for the works of his upcoming web series.
Najeem is known for his films Kaly, Two Countries and Sherlock Toms.
The writer-director told the media on Thursday, 8 June, that during the 2-3 hours raid on Monday (5 June), he was afraid that the officials would “plant” something in his room to arrest him.
“The excise team raided my room for more than two hours. They even strip-searched me. As they failed to find any drug products, they left my room after rendering an apology.”
Najeem Koya claimed that he is not into smoking or tippling and that the officials ransacked his room and his belongings and were also rude to him.
FEFKA condemns raid
Meanwhile, FEFKA Directors’ Union condemned the excise raid. The Union members, at the press meet, sought a detailed inquiry to know who gave a fake tip-off to the excise department.
Union general secretary B Unnikrishnan said the excise department should have verified the authenticity of the information before the raid.
He also asked why the excise department didn’t question actor Tiny Tom who earlier revealed drug usage in the film industry.
“Someone tried to mislead the excise department. The excise minister sought a detailed report from the investigation team after the directors’ union decided to intervene in the case,” Unnikrishnan said.
While actors were being dragged into such controversies, it’s unfortunate that the excise officials raided a young director’s hotel room who has no bad habits, he averred.
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ED denies allegations
While Najeem Koya alleged that he filed a complaint with the Kerala chief minister in this regard, the excise department denied the allegations of the writer-director.
A senior excise official reportedly said the raid was carried out based on information received from the agency’s Intelligence division.
The excise official said that the raid was carried out by a team of officials from the Erattupetta range office and Intelligence officials.
“It was a normal raiding party and not such a big team as claimed by Najeem. All the usual formalities were followed and a report was submitted to the Judicial First-Class Magistrate’s court,” the official added.
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‘Bad impression being created’
During the meeting, Unnikrishnan also said the FEFKA Directors Union would not allow the deployment of shadow police at shooting locations.
The Kerala Police, in a bid to end the alleged drug menace in the film industry, was planning a total and sweeping surveillance of their workplaces, like shooting locations. A step in that direction is the police’s decision to deploy shadow units at shooting locations.
Taking a strong stand, the FEFKA Directors Union said it
Unnikrishnan said there was an impression being created that youngsters in the film industry are drug addicts.
“Unfortunately such discussions have been going on in the recent past.”
As a result, those in authority are under the belief that this sector — the film industry — deserved to be under total surveillance, he said.
Unnikrishnan said that FEFKA was of the view that deployment of shadow police or sweeping surveillance was not required.
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‘Deploying police not practical’
“Deploying shadow police in shooting locations is not a practical solution. They will be easily identified as we know who all are part of the crew and who are not. Moreover, such locations are a closed environment and it would not be easy for an outsider to come in.
“Also they (police) cannot come in our frame. That is not allowed. Furthermore, it would be difficult to work in the presence of the shadow police. We are opposed to it. We do not want total and sweeping surveillance. We will oppose it,” Unnikrishnan told reporters in Kochi.
Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethu Raman last month said police presence would now be there at all film shooting locations in the port city.
He had said that shadow police would be present at all shooting locations and raids would be carried out if information is received about the use or sale of drugs.
Not just him, several top officers have been vocal about the deep inroads that drug use has made into various sectors, including the film industry.
(With PTI inputs)
