Drug case: Tollywood stars' Portugal visit videos under lens

Hyderabad: Excise SIT sleuths, using data mining techniques, are verifying available information including videos of Portugal holidays of some of the 12 Tollywood stars who were summoned with regard to the drug case. 

As drugs have been decriminalised in Portugal since 2001, it is suspected that some of the stars regularly visited Portugal. 

A top source in the SIT said, “A day before we question them, we are ready with all the information available in public domains like facebook, twitter and all over internet. Data mining experts are able to zero in on the information related to the case including all that is available online too. Apart from the evidence from cell phones of the accused Calvin and Nikhil Shetty and others, along with call data records, this is useful too.” 

Portugal treats possession and use of small amounts of drugs as a health issue and not a criminal offence. A small fine and a referral to a treatment program are done in case of possession of drugs. 

The SIT official said, “Our investigation is based on technical evidence. We haven’t called any of the Tollywood stars without reason.” SIT is also video recording all interrogations of the Tollywood stars. Meanwhile, legal experts said that the claims made by Excise sleuths that Tollywood director Puri Jagannath told the interrogators, which was recorded on video, that ‘he used to take drugs’ is of no help. 

The same day after the investigation, Puri denied that he used drugs and also said that he had never met Calvin. He also said that he had said the same things to the interrogators. 

Puri has said on twitter, video and interviews with the newspapers that they are all false allegations and that he had told SIT that he never used any drugs. 

Mr Khasim Basha Vali, an advocate dealing with NDPS Act cases said, “Even if the statements are video recorded they will be of no use as they are not admissible as evidence in the court.”