Actor Sreenath Bhasi arriving at the Maradu police station in Kochi, Kerala, on October 10, 2024 in connection with an NDPS case.
| Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
The Kochi City police on Thursday (October 10, 2024) started questioning actor Sreenath Bhasi in connection with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case involving alleged gangster Om Prakash registered by the Maradu police.
Mr. Bhasi turned up at the Maradu police station around noon with his lawyer. After being initially led to the Station House Officer’s room, he was later taken to another room on the first floor following the presence of a heavy posse of mediapersons. He was being questioned by a team led by Metro Inspector.
It is learned the senior officers of the Kochi City police held a meeting in the morning ahead of the questioning.
Another actor, Prayaga Martin, is also supposed to appear for questioning in the case. Both the actors were issued notices summoning them for questioning on Thursday.
According to the police, they were among the 20 persons who had visited Om Prakash’s room where a party allegedly involving drugs was held.
The police have already questioning a few others among those 20 persons and one Bobby Chalapathy who had allegedly booked the rooms for the accused. More people would be questioned in the coming days.
Forensic test results awaited
The police are also awaiting results of the forensic examination conducted at the hotel rooms. It would prove crucial if the forensic results confirm that the powder residue recovered from the room was indeed cocaine.
A case was registered arraigning one Shihas, 55, of Kottarakara in Kollam, and Om Prakash, of Valiyathura in Thiruvananthapuram, as the first and the second accused following a raid conducted by the Maradu police at a premier hotel in Kundannoor.
According to the police, a zip cover that contained residues of a white powder, reportedly cocaine, and eight bottles of liquor were recovered from the room of Shihas. The accused had booked three rooms in the hotel.
Though the police had sought their custody, the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate granted them bail. Later, on Monday, the police booked another accused Binu Joseph of Elamakkara on charge of making arrangements for the said party. He had also been granted bail since then.
The remand report said the arrests were made based on intelligence reports that the accused were into smuggling in cocaine from abroad and selling it in Ernakulam and other districts for DJ parities. Though they had been in Kochi multiple times before but managed to evade the police and that Om Prakash used to book hotel rooms in the name of others, the remand report said.
Published – October 10, 2024 01:14 pm IST