On April 3, in a major anti-narcotics operation, Hyderabad Police detained more than 140 people, including famous Tollywood personality Naga Babu’s daughter Niharika Konidela and playback singer Rahul Sipligunj. As per reports, at around 3 AM, Police raided the Pudding and Mink pub at Radisson Blu Hotel located in Banjara Hills. During the raid, Police confiscated cocaine and other narcotics.
Children of well-known personalities were detained, including the daughter of the former DGP of Andhra Pradesh and the son of the MP of the Telugu Desam Party. Sipligung, who was present at the party when Police raided the premises, had sung a song for a campaign promoting drug-free Hyderabad under Hyderabad Police’s banner.
During the raid, those who were in possession of the drugs tried to get rid of them. As per Police’s press release, so far three people have been booked in the case including pub manager Mahadaram Anil Kumar, and partner in pub Abhishek Vuppala under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. A person named Arjun Veeramachineni is absconding. When the Police raided the premises, they found over hundred people consuming alcohol. Upon further investigation, they found packets of white powder believed to be cocaine in the possession of the pub manager.
The Police said, “On thorough checking of the premises, five small packets containing white powder suspected to be cocaine were found in one of the plastic containers used for holding drink straws present on the bar counter in the custody of its Manager Anil Kumar.” All detained were taken to Banjara Hills Police Station for further investigation.
Speaking to Hyderabad Times, a police officer of Banjara Hills PS said, “Around 150 people were partying at a pub last night. The pub doesn’t have permission to operate post-midnight. A singer and actress were among those detained as a prohibited substance was found on the premises. We are still interrogating and are yet to file an FIR. More details will be revealed soon.”
It is unclear if all the detained were involved in drug abuse. Rahul left the Police Station at around 8 AM, while Niharika was spotted leaving PS at around 12 PM. As per the CNN-News18 report, 45 of the 140+ detained had to undergo a drug test, and medical reports are awaited.
Naga Babu’s statement
Actor Naga Babu issued a video statement following the arrest of his daughter. He claimed his daughter was only present at the premises and was not involved in the drug abuse. He further claimed Police had confirmed her daughter was clean.
Producer and actor @NagaBabuOffl garu clarified issue of his daughter Niharika garu and asked Media to dont speculate unwanted rumours pic.twitter.com/JZGaqkb3oT
— SKN (Sreenivasa Kumar) (@SKNonline) April 3, 2022
He said, “My daughter Niharika was detained for being present at a pub in a five-star hotel last night. Police have nabbed the management for running the pub beyond permitted timings. However, the Police have confirmed she is clean and has nothing to do with the drugs that were recovered.”
He further urged everyone not to share any false or baseless reports on social media platforms.
It is notable here that Niharika is married to Chaitanya Jonalagadda, the son of senior police officer J Prabhakar Rao. Rao is the IG of the Guntur district. Niharika’s father Naga Babu is the brother of South superstar Chiranjeevi. Niharika and RRR hero Ram Charan are cousins.
Former Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury denied the involvement of her daughter in the case
There were reports that Tejaswini Choudhury, daughter of former Union Minister and Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury was involved in the case and was detained by the Police for questioning. Renuka categorically denied the claims and said the reports were baseless. She said, “I condemn the news coming in the media on my daughter Tejaswini Chaudhury. The allegations against my daughter in connection with the police raid on the Pudding and Mink pub at the Radisson Blu Hotel are untrue. I condemn the ongoing propaganda that Tejaswini was detained and questioned by the police. There is no truth in any of such allegations and it is being done solely with the purpose to tarnish our family’s reputation.” Meanwhile, Telangana Congress demanded a CBI probe in the case.
