HYDERABAD: Justice K Surender of the Telangana High Court on Friday issued orders prohibiting any coercive actions until Tuesday against actor Navdeep Pallapolu under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Navdeep had filed an anticipatory bail application in connection with Crime No. 120 of 2023, registered at the Gudimalkapur police station in Hyderabad, for alleged violations of the NDPS Act.
His legal representative informed the court that the actor became aware of his alleged involvement in the crime through media reports. Counsel said that Navdeep’s name and photographs were prominently displayed in the media reports identifying him as an accused in the case. Counsel also told the court that despite Navdeep being present in Hyderabad, the police wrongly labelled him as absconding, and this misinformation has been disseminated by the media. It was asserted that there are no specific allegations against the petitioner, and he is not connected to the alleged crime.
Counsel insisted that Navdeep was innocent of the charges and was unjustly implicated. “There is a lack of material evidence or corroborating evidence linking him to the case. Navdeep has no direct association with the other accused individuals and is not involved in any drug supply activities,” counsel said, adding that the actor has a fixed place of residence and has no intention of evading the law.
The petitioner comes from a respected family, and these allegations could cause him irreparable harm and significant injustice, counsel said. After considering the arguments, Justice Surender directed the police not to take any coercive actions against Navdeep and adjourned the matter till September 19, 2023.
Remand report says Navdeep used drugs
Eleven persons, including three Nigerians who were arrested by T-NAB (Telangana Narcotics Bureau) and Gudimalkapur police, were remanded on Friday. The remand report said that 18 offenders were on the run.
A police source confirmed that Tollywood actor Navdeep used drugs during a party along with peddler Ramchand on September 9. Ramchand’s mobile phone has the evidence to prove the charges against the actor, sources said. According to the remand report submitted to the XVI Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, a copy of which is in possession of TNIE, the accused were held under Sections 8 (c), 20 (b) (ii) (A) (B) & 22 (C), 27, 27 (A) and 29 of the NDPS Act 1985.
The three accused Nigerians were apprehended at the Mehdipatnam bus stop. They were arrested for possessing psychotropic substances. Initial investigation revealed that former MP Vittal Rao’s son Devarakonda Suresh Rao, Kolli Ramchand who is associated with Tollywood, Kurapati Sandeep, a software engineer and party organiser, Anugu Sushanth Reddy, director of Meghana movie, and Pagalla Srikar Krishna Praneeth, a poker game organiser, were involved in the case.