The Telugu actor, named as the 37th accused in the FIR, has been asked by the H-NEW to appear before it at 11 am on 23 September.
Telugu actor P Navdeep. (X)
The Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW) has summoned Tollywood actor P Navdeep, who landed in a soup when he was named as the 37th accused in the Madhapur drugs case.
Exercising powers under Section 41A of the CrPC, the H-NEW has asked the 37-year-old to appear at its Saifabad office at 11 am on Saturday, 23 September.
“….it is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain facts and circumstances from you in relation to the present investigation [sic],” said the H-NEW notice.
It added that, in case the actor failed to appear, it might lead to his arrest under subsections 3 and 4 of Section 41A of the CrPC.
The Telangana State Narcotics Bureau (TSNAB) personnel on Tuesday conducted a search operation at Navdeep’s residence in Hyderabad. The searches were over the suspicion that he had been obtaining drugs from peddlers, said the TSNAB.
As per reports, the actor was not present at his residence when the TSNAB search was underway; it is sad to have extended till Tuesday evening.
The cops earlier reportedly told the Telangana High Court that they were dubious that Navdeep was a consumer of drugs, and that he used to procure it from one of the other accused in the case, who was in the drug peddling racket that the cops busted in upscale Madhapur.
However, the high court asked the police not to arrest Navdeep till Tuesday. As soon as the deadline was ended, the cops raided Navdeep’s house.
On 15 September, the actor sought anticipatory bail from the high court, but failed to yield the desired result as the court rejected his petition.
The court, agreeing with the TSNAB counsel’s argument, noted that a comprehensive investigation into his involvement with a drug syndicate was the need of the hour.
The court also told the narcotics sleuths that if they wanted to investigate the film actor, they would have to follow the due procedure laid down under Section 41A of the CrPC as the allegations levelled against the actor could attract a jail term that was less than seven years.
It added that the police could also question him, but he should not be arrested.
It may be noted that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) grilled Navdeep in 2021 in connection with an investigation into a case of drugs and money laundering.
The TSNAB officials on Thursday arrested eight more persons, including former MP D Vittal Rao’s son and film director A Sushanth Reddy.
This came nearly two weeks after cops raided a service apartment in the Madhapur area of Hyderabad in a drug bust and arrested three persons with alleged links to Tollywood.
The TSNAB cops seized eight grams of cocaine from two of the arrested persons. They also seized 50 grams of MDMA, 24 ecstasy pills, eight mobile phones, and vehicles, all worth ₹1.10 crore.
TSNAB Director and Hyderabad Commissioner of Police (CP) CV Anand said Devarakonda Suresh Rao, son of ex-MP Ram Chand, who had contacts in the film industry; K Sandeep, a software engineer who hosted parties for the industry; and Srikar Krishna Praneet, who organised poker at star hotels in the city, were arrested.
Three peddlers from Nigeria — Amobi Chukwudi Muonagolu, Igbawre Michael, and Thomas Anagha Kalu — were subsequently nabbed from Bengaluru.
The name of actor Navdeep cropped up in the case as the Hyderabad police reportedly gathered evidence suggesting that he acquired drugs from his friend Ramchand, who is already behind bars.
While Anand said Navdeep and film producer Ravi Uppalapati, who was also allegedly involved in the case, were absconding, Navdeep claimed innocence on X. He said he was not the actor the police were looking for, and that he was very much in the city.
That's not me gentlemen
I'm right here .. pls clarify thanks— Navdeep (@pnavdeep26) September 14, 2023
After making his debut with the sports flick Jai in 2004, Navdeep worked in movies such as Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005), Gowtam SSC (2005), Chandamama (2007), Dhruva (2016), Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2017), Ala Vaikunthapurramloo (2020), Seeru (2020), and Run (2020).
May 18, 2024
May 17, 2024
May 17, 2024
May 17, 2024
May 17, 2024
May 17, 2024
