The Sandalwood drugs saga has reached Bollywood. Well, almost.
On Thursday, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) raided Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi’s residence in Mumbai on suspicion that he had sheltered his brother-in-law Aditya Alva, 31, who is believed to have supplied drugs to singers and actors in the Kannada film industry.
Vivek Oberoi, 44, is married to Aditya’s elder sister, Priyanka Alva, 37. His father-in-law, the late Jeevaraj Alva, was a minister in the Karnataka cabinet.
The CCB says Aditya has been absconding since September 4 after his name cropped up during the investigation. On September 15, police had raided his resort-cum-residence, named ‘House of Life’, at Mariyannana Palya near Hebbal, and reportedly seized Ecstasy (MDMA) tablets and ganja among other things.
The raid on Vivek Oberoi’s Mumbai residence was carried out following a tip-off that Aditya was hiding there, said Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime). CCB sleuths, armed with a court warrant, searched the actor’s house for well over five hours.
They also questioned Priyanka about the whereabouts of her brother. She has been issued a notice to appear before CCB officers for questioning, Patil said.
Asked whether Vivek Oberoi would be questioned, the CCB chief said that as of now, only Priyanka had been summoned for questioning.
While CCB officers were tight-lipped about whether Vivek Oberoi was at home during the raid, sources in the force said the actor and other members of his family were likely to be questioned about Aditya’s whereabouts.
Earlier this month, the CCB had grilled Ricky Rai, the son of former underworld don, the late Muthappa Rai, raiding his residence in Sadashivanagar and the family’s house in Bidadi. Officers suspected that Ricky knew about Aditya’s hideout, and seized his mobile phone.