A day after film-maker Indrajit Lankesh appeared before the Anti-Narcotics Wing for questioning and claimed that he had provided evidence about the alleged drug abuse in the Kannada film industry, senior officials from the CCB refuted his claims.

Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police, said in a statement said that Mr. Lankesh had mentioned about past incidents and took a few names, but no material evidence was given to corroborate his claims. He further said the CCB was verifying his claims and would give him an opportunity again to submit any evidence or material to support his claims.

On Monday, the CCB had summoned the film-maker and questioned him for five hours to record his statement. Soon after the enquiry, he had told the media that he had submitted a list of names of film industry members involved in the drug menace and had also submitted documentary evidence which will help the CCB in investigation.

More drugs recovered

Meanwhile, as part of the drive against drug menace, the Begur police arrested three persons from West Bengal and recovered 11 kg of ganja worth ₹ 4.4 lakh from them.

The accused, Mohammed Alamgir, 44, Mohammed Ripun, 33 and Mohar Ali Mondal, 23, used to allegedly smuggle the drugs into the city by train and supply them to their local contacts. They were living in Begur in the garb of migrant labourers but would peddle drugs, the police said.

The accused were arrested while they were waiting near a temple in Vishwapriya Layout in Begur with ganja, to hand over the consignment to their contacts.

Based on a tip-off, a team of police raided the place in the wee hours and arrested them. The police are now investigating to ascertain how drugs are being smuggled into the city by train despite security.

The accused told the police that they would conceal the drugs in their backpacks and board the trains from West Bengal from the outskirts where there is less or no security check. The accused would dump the packs on the outskirts of the city as soon as the train reached the city. They would get down at the next railway station and walk back to collect their bags. Sometimes, the accused would take the help of their associates who would wait for them on the outskirts of the city on railway tracks to collect the drugs.

In another incident, the Devanahalli police arrested two persons and recovered ganja worth ₹1.75 lakh from them. The accused, Muniraju, 33, and Nagesh, 25 from Hosakote were caught red handed while they were waiting near a dhaba on Devanahalli road waiting for their contacts to hand over the consignment.