Kochi, April 7 (IANS) Malayalam actor Sreenath Bhasi withdrew his anticipatory bail plea just hours after filing it before the Kerala High Court. The move comes in the wake of allegations linking him to a drug case involving arrested peddler Tasleem Sultana.
Earlier in the day, Bhasi had moved the High Court, expressing apprehension that he might be arrested by the Kerala State Excise Department following media reports that Sultana had named him as a client.
His petition cited a potential threat of arrest and sought protection. The court had admitted the plea and directed the Excise to file its response within two weeks.
However, by Monday evening, Bhasi decided to withdraw the petition, apparently because the Excise Department had not yet named him as an accused in the case.
In his plea, Bhasi acknowledged knowing a woman named Christina, whom he met in Kozhikode a few months ago. He claimed that during their interactions, he received a message asking if he wanted “ganja,” to which he had responded with “wait.”
He also stated that he recognized the arrested peddler by the name of Tasleem.
The Excise Department had arrested Tasleem Sultana and an accomplice on April 1 from a resort near Alappuzha, acting on a tip-off.
The operation led to the seizure of hybrid ganja worth around Rs 2 crore in the open market. Officials said the arrest came after a three-month-long surveillance operation.
During interrogation, Sultana allegedly revealed the names of several clients from the Malayalam film industry, including actors Shine Tom Chacko and Sreenath Bhasi.
While neither actor has been officially named as an accused, officials have indicated they may be questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.
Sources say that digital forensics experts are now assisting the Excise team in retrieving deleted chats and messages from the phones of the accused, which could be key to establishing the client network.
Sultana, originally from Kannur, is said to have operated from Chennai, frequently traveling to Kochi and Alappuzha — hubs for her distribution network.
Apart from her alleged involvement in narcotics, she is also known to have worked in minor acting roles and assisted with film script translations, giving her access to the film fraternity.
This is not her first brush with the law. She has a prior record of involvement in a sex racket.
Actor Shine Tom Chacko, too, has faced scrutiny in the past. In 2015, he was arrested with four models for alleged cocaine possession but was acquitted nearly a decade later due to lack of evidence.
Meanwhile, Bhasi had also faced questioning last year in connection with an NDPS case linked to alleged gangster Om Prakash.
With the Excise Department intensifying its investigation into the film industry’s possible drug links, more developments are expected in the coming days.
–IANS
sg/skp
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