The special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court of Bengaluru on Monday denied bail to Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani for their alleged connection with the high-profile Sandalwood drugs case. The hearing on bail for these actresses as well as other accused in the case was adjourned till September 30. The NDPS court also rejected the anticipatory bail applications filed by two accused in the case, Vinay Kumar and Shiva Prakash, who evaded arrest until now. The Central Crime Branch police are also on the lookout for actor Vivek Oberoi's brother-in-law, Aditya Alva, who has been named in the case.
The CCB has so far arrested high-profile party planner Viren Khanna, alleged drug peddlers Loum Pepper Samba, Rahul Tonse, Prashanth Ranka and Niyaz in connection with the case. Other than the probe by the CCB, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also conducting a parallel probe into the alleged money trail involved in this entire case involving two actors along with other co-accused on charges of money laundering.
The ED has already got permission from the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on Thursday that had granted permission to probe the charges. Among others, the ED is expected to question Viren Khanna, Sanjjana's friend and real estate businessman Rahul Tonse, and Ragini's associate B.K. Ravi Shankar who is among the arrested in connection with the same case.
Ragini Dwivedi who had initially skipped summons by the CCB police on September 3 was arrested the next day for allegedly not cooperating with investigation officials, following raids at her residence. Sanjjanaa Galrani, who was also subsequently raided in connection with the same case, was arrested on September 8. After a brief period in police custody, they were sent to judicial custody on September 14.
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