Accordingly it was in June 2017 that a sensational drug racket was busted by authorities in Hyderabad, in which about 1,000 students from leading private schools and colleges in the city were found to be using high end drugs such as Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Meanwhile the racket had also exposed the dark underbelly of Tollywood, as the dealers were also supplying drugs to several personalities from the Telugu film industry.
Furthermore this included prominent names like popular director Puri Jagannadh and actor Ravi Teja, who were summoned and questioned by authorities after their names cropped up in the call data of Calvin Mascarenhas, the alleged kingpin of the drug racket. Perhaps close to two years later, officials have barely made any progress in the case as many charge sheets are yet to be filed. Many of the main accused in the case, including Calvin, are also out on bail.
Moreover Puri and Ravi Teja, others including actors P Navdeep, Charmee Kaur and Mumaith Khan, cinematographer Shyam K Naidu, character artist Subbaraju and singer Ananda Krishna Nandu were also summoned. However, no charge sheet was filed against any of them. Further Padmanabha points out that then Movie Artists’ Association (MAA) President Sivaji Raja had met Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, following which the former warned artists publicly against drug abuse and asked them to mend their ways.
