Tollywood cameraman appears before SIT in drug case

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Hyderabad drug racket grilled Tollywood cinematographer Shyam K. Naidu on Thursday.

The SIT questioned Naidu a day after grilling director Puri Jagannadh for over 10 hours for his alleged links with the accused.

The questioning, which began around 10 a.m. at the office of Prohibition and Excise Commissioner in Hyderabad, was continuing, officials said.

The SIT has summoned 12 personalities from the Telugu film industry for questioning in connection with the sensational racket busted earlier this month.

Puri was the first to appear before the SIT, which questioned him about his alleged links with Calvin Mascrenhas, the kingpin of the racket.

One of the officials, who grilled him, said he provided some clues.

The SIT also collected blood, hair and nail samples from the director to find out if he was using drugs.

Doctors from the government-run Osmania Hospital collected the samples and handed over the same to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for analysis.

Meanwhile, Puri in a video posted on his twitter account said he told SIT officials that he never met Calvin and had no links with him or his gang.

"I am a responsible person. Not only drugs but anything which is illegal, I was never into such things," he said.

The director said the attitude of media has hurt him.

"They destroyed my life. If there is anything, the SIT will decide," he added.

Actress Charmee Kaur was scheduled to appear before the SIT on Thursday but she conveyed that she will appear on some other day.

Her father said on Wednesday that she had nothing to do with the drug case.

Actor Subbaraju will appear before the SIT on Friday. He has already denied taking drugs or having links with the accused.

Actors Ravi Teja, Navdeep, Tarun and Nandu, actress Mumaith Khan and art director Chinna are among the other celebrities who will be questioned by the SIT.

The racket caused a sensation as authorities found that about 1,000 students of leading private schools and colleges in the city were using high-end drugs such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and MDMA (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine).

The SIT has so far arrested 13 persons, including US citizen Dundu Anish -- an aerospace engineer who had earlier worked with the NASA, and seven B.Tech graduates, most of whom were working for multi-national companies.

--IANS

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