INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As an ugly war of words on Bollywood drug trafficking has spilled over to debate in Parliament, the Union home ministry on Tuesday said that
there were "no actionable inputs received by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on nexus between people in the film industry and drug
traffickers during Covid-19."In his reply to an unstarred question by Congress MP Kumbakudi Sudhakaran, MoS Home G Kishan Redd however said
that the NCB has registered an FIR in the matter and has arrested 10 people along with narcotic substances.Reddy, in a written reply,
stated, "Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) carries out search, seizure, arrest and investigation continuously throughout the year on the
actionable inputs developed on its own and/or on receipt from other sources
During the period of Covid-19 lockdown, no such actionable inputs were received by the 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 28.08.2020 referring to the
Rhea Chakravarthy case," the minister said.Reddy further stated that so far 10 persons have been arrested
"Drugs such as ganja, hashish, tetrahydro cannabinol and lysergic acid de-ethylamide have been seized in the operation," he said.The MHA
reply came hours after a war of words erupted between the Bollywood camps within Parliament.The matter first reached the halls of Lok Sabha
when actor-turned-MP Ravi Kishan raised it on Monday
Twenty-four hours later, veteran actor and Samajwadi Party MP from Rajya Sabha Jaya Bachchan launched a scathing attack on the BJP MP
stating that a few people were trying to malign the image of Bollywood.Speaking in the Upper House, Jaya Bachchan said, "A few people, who
have made their living out of the film industry, are trying to defame it and the government must provide protection against it." The
