At least 12 Tollywood celebrities, including two women actresses, were issued notices.
After the recent unearthing of a drug racket in Hyderabad, Tollywood celebrities who were issued notices by the excise department are to soon start appearing before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning.
Famous director Puri Jagannath may be the first to be grilled. At least 12 Tollywood celebrities, including two women actresses, were issued notices.
One of them is said to be Mumaith Khan, who is to be served notice at Lonavala where she is one of the participants in Telugu Big Boss show that began this week.
Over the next one week, at least two heroes and a leading lady are to be questioned to investigate their suspected links with drug peddlers, whose call record details, WhatsApp messages and interrogation had led the excise department officials to come up with a list of those who may have been drug users.
"Calling someone for questioning does not mean they are guilty. They may or may not be. That is what we are still probing," excise enforcement director Akun Sabharwal told NDTV.
Some of those who confirmed that they got notices asking them to appear for questioning said they had known one of more of the dozen people arrested in the drug racket case, not because they were drug users, but for other professional reasons, like conducting celebrity public events by the event managers, who are now in the dock.
On Tuesday, the excise department transferred 240 officers including 20 superintendents, 23 assistant superintendents and 115 circle inspectors.
Excise enforcement director Akun Sabharwal had cancelled and postponed his leave from Saturday for 10 days following doubts raised that there is political pressure on him, considering bigwigs may be involved.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has clarified that howsoever big or powerful the culprits, he wants the officers to get to the bottom of the drug racket.
After a series of raids in which huge quantities of LSD and also cocaine was seized from at least 13 people arrested this month, the excise department had said that among users are school and college students. At least 26 schools and 27 colleges, and also parents, were issued notices informing them about suspected multiple drug users in their institution. The excise department had in fact called for a meeting with some 80 educational institutions on July 14 but that was dropped after the schools and education department raised objections, worried about adverse effects like stigma and victimisation.
Some schools and colleges have started awareness programs. The film industry has also admitted that there is concern and they want to cooperate with the police, excise and government to curb this menace.
"Film personalities are also human and may also need help. So instead of villainising them, we want to help them. But put a stop to the supply chain," film producer Daggubati Suresh told NDTV.