No Actionable Inputs to Show Nexus Between People in Film Industry and Drug Traffickers, Says Govt

The government on Tuesday said no actionable inputs were received by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) revealing the alleged nexus between people in the film industry and drug traffickers. Replying to a written question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said the NCB carries out searches, seizures, arrests and investigations continuously throughout the year on the actionable inputs developed on its own or received from other sources.

"During the period of COVID-19 lockdown, no such actionable inputs were received by NCB revealing the nexus between people in the film industry and drug traffickers. "However, a case in this regard has been registered by NCB Mumbai zonal unit on August 28, 2020. Till date, in this case 10 persons have been arrested. Drugs such as Ganja, Hashish, Tetra Hydro Cannabinol and Lysergic acid De-ethylamide have been seized in the operation," he said.

Reddy was replying to a question on whether the government has conducted a detailed inquiry into the nexus between people in the film industry and those involved in drug trade during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Batting for Bollywood on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, MP and veteran actor Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday argued for government support to the entertainment industry and slammed those tarnishing its image. Bachchan’s speech, in which she used a Hindi proverb to say those defaming the industry were biting the hands that fed them, earned her fulsome praise from many of her colleagues in Bollywood that has been under a cloud since the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June.

Although Bachchan did not take any names, her speech came a day after BJP’s Lok Sabha MP and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan said there was a problem of drug addiction in the film industry. She also said she completely disagrees with those who term the entertainment industry a “gutter”, a term used by actor Kangana Ranaut to describe Bollywood in a tweet last month. Through a Zero Hour mention in Rajya Sabha, Bachchan said the entertainment industry was being flogged by social media and asked the government to protect and support it.