Kerala police to inspect film sets over rampant drug abuse in industry
Shadow police would monitor film sets to search for drug usage, Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethuraman said in a statement to the media on Sunday.
FollowKochi: The Kerala police have decided to take action against rampant drug abuse in the Malayalam film industry. The decision comes after comedian and actor Tini Tom exposed the reality of substance abuse among young actors in the state.
Shadow police would monitor film sets to search for drug usage, Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethuraman said in a statement to the media on Sunday.
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"Action will be taken against those violating the law," he said and welcomed people speaking out against the use of drugs.
As of yet, there have been no reports of drug usage among young people working in the film industry. However, police have chosen to act after learning about the revelation of a few movie stars, according to Sethuraman.
"We have information on those who were previously involved in situations like this. We are aware of those who use drugs, but we are unaware of those who sell them. If we arrest the vast majority of drug users, we will have to release them on bail. What is needed is for these people to "wake up and see that continuing their drug use will be bad for them."
The Kerala Film Chamber has supported the police action. The president of the chamber, G Suresh Kumar, stated that it is the duty of the police to control the drug problem and added that the shadow police would receive all required support for their task.
This should have been done a while ago. It can no longer be tolerated. If we get the information, we will hand it over to the police," he said.
"The police know exactly who is using drugs and who is supplying them," said Suresh Kumar. However, he refused to name anyone involved.
At a gathering in Alappuzha, actor Tini Tom talked openly about working with an actor who was hooked on narcotics. He claimed that one of his fellow performers has teeth rot as a result of substance addiction.
Tini Tom went on to say that his wife had objected to his young son acting in a movie because she was concerned about the allegations of widespread drug usage in the film industry.
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