Bengaluru: As part of its ongoing probe into celebrity drug racket here, the city police for the first time has subjected those arrested, including Kannada film actors, to hair follicle test to check whether they had consumed narcotic substances, a senior official said.
Besides gathering other evidence, the police this time resorted to the hair test to strengthen the case in which actors, rave party organisers, realtors and African drug peddlers have been arrested since August after the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) first unearthed a racket.
Later, the Central Crime Branch police launched its own crackdown into drug abuse and has arrested at least 15 people so far.
"This is the first time that a hair sample test is being done to get additional evidence though we already have evidence in the form of technical data, eye witnesses, mobile phone analysis, seizures," Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said.
The investigation was on the right track, he said, adding the hair sample test was only to get additional evidence as the case would not stand only on hair evidence.
The hair follicle drug test is conducted on a person who is suspected of drug abuse to confirm it, said a police officer.
The Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act requires elaborate investigation backed by adequate evidence, without which the accused would be acquitted, and hence the police were extra cautious this time and wanted to strengthen the case of prosecution, another officer said.
Those arrested by the CCB included actors Ragini Dwivedi, Sanjjanaa Galrani, their associates B K Ravishankar, realtor Rahul Thonse and a few Nigerians, who were drug peddlers. PTI GMS VS
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Bengaluru: Animal slaughter in slaughterhouses and the sale of meat in shops across the city will remain completely prohibited on Monday, March 30, in observance of Mahavir Jayanti.
The directive applies to areas under the jurisdiction of the Greater Bengaluru Authority and has been issued by the
According to an official order from the Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry Department, both slaughtering of animals and the sale of meat in all shops will be strictly banned throughout the day.
