Actor Srikanth's arrest unearths major criminal network: Land grabbing, job racket, drugs and more

Hindustan Times

6 hours ago

The arrest of popular actor Srikanth, known for his work in Tamil and Telugu movies, in a drug related case has taken the lid off a criminal network that spans far beyond substance abuse and distribution and includes crimes such as land grabbing, job racket, and more. India News
Srikanth has been sent to judicial custody till July 7 after he was grilled for over eight hours on Monday in connection with a drug case, said police on Tuesday. His blood samples were also taken to determine whether there were narcotics in his system and the results have confirmed so, said police. The medical examination was done at the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital in Chennai.
Srikanth's arrest comes after enough evidence was collected against him, according to the police. 'Actor Srikanth, who had obtained and used cocaine, has been subjected to medical examination. His financial transactions were checked and his houses were thoroughly searched, and he was arrested with appropriate evidence,' the police said in a statement, reported PTI. Who is Prasad and other accused?
T Prasad, a main accused in the criminal web that has been unearthed following Srikanth's arrest, has also been detained, the PTI report said. Prasad allegedly supplied cocaine to Srikanth and another actor as well, the police claims.
Prasad was arrested earlier this year on May 22 in a pub drunken brawl case, the report said. Him and his friend, Ajay Vandaiyar, another main accused of the criminal network, were allegedly involved in crimes such as land grabbing. They would allegedly threaten landowners in Chennai and other areas as well and prepare fake documents in order to grab lands of people living out of India, reveals probe.
Along with Prasad and Vandaiyar, other accused were also allegedly involved in these crimes, identified as Nagendra Sethupathi, Chandrasekhar, and Sivasankaran and have been arrested. A head constable of Armed Reserve police, who was in close contact with Prasad and other accused, has also been arrested.
Some money transfers done through an organisation run by Ajay Vandaiyar are being probed and three cases have been filed against Vandaiyar and others involved in the crimes so far. The police have made 22 arrests and five detentions in the cases under the Goondas Act.
"Prasad, Ajay Vandaiyar, and his associates have been involved in crimes such as government job racket, land grabbing, illegal use of the land registry and information technology department, and drug trafficking," said the police statement.
With PTI inputs.