Drug peddling case: Actor Charmme has to be questioned by lady officers, says HC

Officials have arrested 19 accused, including an aerospace engineer who had earlier worked with the NASA, and seven BTech graduates in connection with the drug scandal.

The interrogation of filmstar Charmme Kaur over her alleged links with drug peddlers has to be carried out by woman officers, the Hyderabad high court ordered on Tuesday.

Actor Charmme Kaur wanted that she be exempt from undergoing medical examination, including collection of her blood samples, hair and nails by authorities. (Facebook photo)

Justice A Rajaeskhara Reddy also directed that the interrogation be done between 10am and 5pm, and that authorities will need Kaur’s consent to collect blood, nail and hair samples for medical tests.

Kaur had approached the court, seeking direction for a Special Investigation Team to abide by the Constitution and Supreme Court guidelines by allowing the presence of her lawyer and women officers at the time of examination.

Kaur is under scanner in connection with a drug scandal in Tollywood, or the Telugu film industry, that allegedly involves at least 12 celebrities. Over the past couple of days, director Puri Jangannadh and actors Navdeep and Tarun have been questioned in the case.

Kajal Aggarwal, another popular actor, expressed shock on Tuesday over the alleged involvement of her manager, Puttkar Ronson Joseph (alias Ronnie), in the drug racket.

Aggarwal said on Twitter she was ‘shocked and appalled’ about the incident, adding she had ‘zero support’ for any behaviour that hurts the society.

Ronnie was arrested after a raid on his Manikonda residence, where officials seized four grams of marijuana.