Hyderabad drug case: Tollywood stars' visit to Portugal under scanner
- Video recordings of actors' interrogation are considered as important evidences by the SIT.
- However, legal experts say that these are not considered as evidences by the court.
- Actors' visit to Portugal seem to have gone up since the country does not consider possession and use of Drug as a criminal offence.
FollowThe excise department, using data mining techniques, are verifying available records of celebrities visiting Portugal after drug was banned in the country. Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, a top source in the SIT said, "A day before we question them, we are ready with all the information available in public domains like Facebook, twitter and all over internet. Data mining experts are able to zero in on the information related to the case including all that is available online too. Apart from the evidence from cell phones of the accused Calvin and Nikhil Shetty and others, along with call data records, this is useful too.”
It is to be noted that Portugal does not consider possession and use of Drugs in small quantities as a criminal offence. In such cases, a small fine and reference to a treatment program are done in case of possession of drugs. While the SIT officials are video recording the interrogations of Tollywood stars, legal experts believe that the agency's recording of Puri Jagannath where he admitted taking drugs is baseless.
The same day after interrogation, director Puri denied have said any of it and also said that he never met Calvin. He also said that he had said the same things to the interrogators. For instance, Khasim Basha Vali, an advocate dealing with NDPS Act cases said, "Even if the statements are video recorded they will be of no use as they are not admissible as evidence in the court.”
