Sandalwood drugs case: SC notice on Ragini Dwivedi’s bail plea

News Network
December 4, 2020

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New Delhi, Dec 4: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice on a plea moved by Kannada film actress Ragini Dwivedi seeking bail in the Sandalwood drugs case. The actress has highlighted that she has been in jail for 90 days without any authentic proof or recovery from her.

A bench headed by Justice R.F. Nariman and comprising Justices Navin Sinha and K.M. Joseph sought response from the Karnataka government on Ragini's plea.

The plea filed through advocate-on-record Sahil Bhalaik said the prosecution has concocted a false case against her to attract public attention. The plea argued that it is remarkable that Ragini has been made an accused and remains in jail even after 90 days, despite that fact that there has been no recovery of any drugs from her.

The plea added that only on the basis of a false statement extracted by the police she has been implicated and became a victim of a media trial.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Ragini, submitted before the bench that no recovery was made from her and the entire case is based on a statement made by a co-accused before the police.

The Supreme Court has listed the matter for further hearing in the first week of January.

Dwivedi filed a special leave petition in the top court challenging the November 3 order of the Karnataka High Court, which declined to grant her relief along with another accused Sanjjanaa Galrani in the case.

The two actors were arrested by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch Police in swift actions in September at the height drug related accusations among members of film fraternity.

Ragini was arrested on September 4 and Sanjana on September 8 under various provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly consuming and supplying banned drugs at parties and events organised in the city over the last couple of years.

All the accused are lodged in the central jail on the outskirts of the city's southern suburb.

On September 28, the trial court had dismissed their bail applications on the grounds they could influence the other accused and hamper investigation into the drugs scam.

The special NDPS court had also refused to grant bail to both the actors on the same day (September 28).

The city police began a crackdown on the use of banned drugs in the Sandalwood industry in August last week after noted Kannada film producer Inderjit Lankesh alleged that about a dozen actors were involved in drugs consumption and there was a nexus between them and drug mafias.

Besides Ragini and Sanjana, 20 drugs peddlers, party organizers and their associates were arrested and jailed pending the investigation.

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News Network
March 26,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained two suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The preliminary probe has revealed that the two suspects were in direct contact with the suspected bomber.

The NIA sleuths have picked up the suspects from an area in the state capital. However, a statement is yet to be made by the NIA in this regard.

Even as the investigating agencies, both NIA and state special wing CCB teams have launched an extensive search operation in various states, the bomber has remained elusive. The authorities had obtained the bomber’s images and videos from CCTV footage on March 1, soon after the incident.

Sources said that the sleuths were suspecting that the bomber had come from Tamil Nadu and was staying in a neighbouring state for two months before carrying out the blast.

The hair samples of the accused were gathered from the hat of the accused which he abandoned in Bengaluru near a religious place. The authorities have sent the samples for the DNA testing and were hoping for a breakthrough.

The Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast took place on March 1 on the International Technology Park Limited (ITPL) road in the Brookfield area. Low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was used to carry out the blast and nine persons were injured in the incident.

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News Network
March 28,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

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News Network
March 28,2024

fire.jpg

Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.