Mangaluru: Television anchor Anushree was on Saturday questioned in connection with the drug consumption and peddling case involving dancer-choreographer Kishore Aman Shetty.

Anushree, who appeared before the police at 9 am, was interrogated for three-and-a-half hours, police sources said.

Anushree told the probe team that she knew Tarun Raj, the close friend of Shetty, who is also an accused in the drug case, for the last 12 years.

He had done dance choreography for her for six months. The anchor said she had no links with Tarun relating to drug use and had not attended any party with him, the sources added.

Talking to reporters after coming out of the police station, Anushree said she had given answers to all the questions put to her by the investigating team.

She said she would come for further interrogation if the police summoned her again. The police have not confirmed whether there will be further questioning, she said.

"Drug mafia is a ghost that has haunted our state and the police are trying their best to root out the mafia.

We will cooperate with the investigation," she added. Anushree was summoned after Tarun disclosed to the police that she had also attended Shetty's party. DCP Vinay Gaonkar and inspector Shivaprakash led the probe team.

The state CCB police is investigating drug abuse among bigwigs, including those in the film industry, after the Narcotics Control Bureau arrested three people from Bengaluru with a drug haul.

They were allegedly supplying drugs to Kannada film actors and singers.

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New Delhi (PTI): To beef up the security infrastructure of ports, the government will set up a statutory body -- the Bureau of Port Security -- that will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information of ports and vessels, officials said on Friday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday convened a meeting for the constitution of the dedicated body, the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS), which was attended by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and the Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, an official statement said.

Emphasising that there is a need to establish a country-wide robust port security framework, Shah directed that security measures should be implemented in a graded and risk-based manner, taking into account vulnerabilities, trade potential, location, and other relevant parameters.

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The meeting also noted that lessons learned from the maritime security framework shall be replicated in the aviation security domain, the statement said.

The new body, modelled on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), will be constituted as a statutory body under the new Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, and will work under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), it said.

Headed by a senior IPS officer as its director general, the BoPS will be responsible for regulatory and oversight functions relating to the security of ships and port facilities.

"During the transition period of one year, the director general of shipping shall function as the director general of BoPS," the statement said.

"The BoPS will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information, with a special focus on cybersecurity, including a dedicated division to safeguard port IT infrastructure from digital threats," it said.

The government has designated the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as a recognised security organisation (RSO), responsible for undertaking security assessments and preparation of security plans for port facilities.

The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will train and build the capacities of private security agencies (PSAs) engaged in port security.

"These agencies shall be certified and appropriate regulatory measures shall be introduced to ensure that only the licensed PSAs operate in this sector," the statement said.