Excise department issues summons to 2 Malayalam actors

Alappuzha: Actors Shine Tom Chacko and Sreenath Bhasi from Malayalam have been summoned by the Kerala Excise Department to appear for questioning on Monday.

The move follows the arrest of Tasleem Sultana and an accomplice from a resort near Alappuzha on April 1, after a tip-off. The operation resulted in the seizure of a hybrid ganja worth approximately Rs 2 crore in the open market.

Officials said the arrests were the culmination of a three-month surveillance operation.

During interrogation, Sultana allegedly named several clients from the Malayalam film industry, including actors Chacko and Bhasi.

Sensing trouble, Bhasi had filed an anticipatory bail plea, which he withdrew within hours before the Kerala High Court. Excise officials had earlier stated that they would summon the actors if needed.

Following detailed questioning of Sultana and her associates, notices were now issued to both the actors.

In his bail plea before the High Court, Bhasi acknowledged knowing a woman named Christina, whom he met in Kozhikode a few months ago. He claimed that during their conversations, he received a message asking if he wanted "ganja," to which he replied, “wait.” He also said he recognized the arrested peddler as Tasleem.

Excise officials, with assistance from digital forensic experts, are understood to have retrieved crucial chat messages between Bhasi and Sultana.

Sultana, originally from Kannur, is believed to have operated out of Chennai, frequently travelling to Kochi and Alappuzha -- key locations in her alleged distribution network.

Apart from her suspected involvement in narcotics, she is known to have worked in minor film roles and assisted with script translations, which gave her access to the film industry. This is not her first brush with the law -- she has a prior record in a sex racket case.

The summons comes days after Shine Tom Chacko, who recently admitted to drug use, was arrested and later released on bail.

Chacko has faced scrutiny before -- in 2015, he was arrested along with four models for alleged possession of cocaine but was acquitted nearly a decade later due to lack of evidence.

Bhasi, too, was questioned last year in connection with an NDPS case involving alleged gangster Om Prakash.

With inputs from IANS