Kochi: In Kerala Kochi, the excise arrested two renowned Malayalam filmmakers, Khalid Rahman and Ashraf Hamza, for possession of hybrid ganja in the early hours of Sunday. Excise seized 1.5 grams of ganja from a flat here where the two, along with another person, were arrested. They were released on bail since the measure seized ganja was small.
Khalid Rahman is the director of several hit films like ‘Anuraga Karikkinvellam’, ‘Unda’, and ‘Thallumala’, while Ashraf Hamza is known for films such as ‘Thamaasha’ and ‘Bheemante Vazhi’.
According to reports, excise officials raided the arrested three’s flat at 2:00 in the morning on Sunday following a tip-off. Onmanorama was told by an officer on the team that the flat had been rented by cinematographer Sameer Thahir.
An official of the excise squad office in Ernakulam said that a case has been registered against the arrested under sections 20(b) (II) A and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Excise inspector KP Pramod told Manorama News that the arrested trio were regular users of drugs, and they met in the flat for discussions on a movie project. He said that they were released on station bail.
It was only last week that the police arrested Malayalam film actor Shine Tom Chacko in connection with a drug case. His arrest was recorded after about a four-hour-long interrogation in connection with an incident in which he allegedly fled from a hotel in Kochi during a narcotics raid, PTI reported. Police had said that he was booked under Sections 27 (consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance) and 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.