The names of two prominent Malayalam actors have emerged in a case involving a notorious gangster who was arrested from a star hotel in connection with a drug case recently, according to police.
The names of actors Sreenath Bhasi and Prayaga Martin, who have been part of several hit movies, appeared in the custody application report submitted by the Maradu police investigating the case following the arrest of gangster Om Prakash.
Prakash was involved in several criminal cases. He and his accomplices were apprehended at the hotel in Maradu on charges of possessing banned narcotics.
The Maradu police, in their report, stated that they had received secret information indicating that the accused were procuring substances like cocaine from abroad and distributing them at DJ parties being organised in the city.
The accused had been under surveillance by the intelligence wing of the police.
To evade police detection, the gangster booked hotel rooms in another person's name, according to the police.
As a detailed investigation was conducted, it was found that over 20 individuals, including film actors Bhasi and Martin, had visited Prakash at the hotel, the report noted.
Prakash is accused in over 30 cases, police further stated.
A senior police officer said a comprehensive investigation is being carried out in the case, and investigators have collected all vital evidence in this connection.
"Various articles were collected from the site where the accused were arrested. They were sent for the forensic examination, and their results are awaited," he told reporters here.
The officer said the call details of mobile phones seized from the accused would be examined, and a detailed interrogation of those who contacted the gangster would be carried out after that.
When asked about the film actors who had allegedly visited him, the officer said the police had collected all details, including CCTV visuals from the hotel.
Bhasi and Martin's names in the police report come at a time when allegations of various malpractices in the Malayalam film industry, including sexual abuse of female actors and drug abuse, were revealed in the Justice Hema Committee report, triggering an uproar in the state recently. The two actors were yet to react to the developments.
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