Actor Mamta Kulkarni's role in hubby's drug ring under scanner

April 28, 2016

Mumbai, Apr 28: The Thane police, which seized 20 tonnes of ephedrine in a record haul this month, is investigating reports that actor Mamta Kulkarni is a central figure in the international drug ring that tried to smuggle in the contraband.

MamtaThe development came as investigators revealed on Wednesday that Mamta's Kenya-based husband, Vicky Goswami, was the kingpin of the drug operation.

Vicky has a well-known history of serious drug offences. In 1997, he was arrested for drug trafficking in Dubai and served 15 years in a prison there. He later moved with Mamta to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, where he is currently facing fresh charges. He is wanted by the US and the Thane police for drug offences. "This is an international racket and Vicky Goswami is the main link to it. As for Mamta Kulkarni, we are probing her role," Thane police commissioner Parambir Singh said, referring to the ephedrine haul.

Vicky was named as the prime suspect after the police received information about his operations from the United States' Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on Tuesday.

Mamta, who is believed to be in Kenya currently, featured in several Bollywood movies in the 1990s, including the Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Karan Arjun. While senior Thane officers did not divulge details about her role in her husband's drug syndicate, sources in the police said she was the face of the ring.

As Vicky cannot leave Kenya because of an Interpol notice against him, he asked Mamta to meet clients in Dubai, Singapore, South Africa and the US, said a Thane police officer, who didn't want to be named.

Mamta allegedly also struck business deals with drug networks in Maharashtra, and Vicky used her name to carry out bank transactions. The couple allegedly also routed huge sums from drug deals through the hawala channel.

Mamta apparently never came under the authorities' scanner until now. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested one Punit Shringi, who was allegedly the main link between Vicky and drug cartels in Mumbai and Thane.Shringi has reportedly revealed that Manoj Jain, a director of a firm called, was also involved and had met Vicky several times in Kenya.

The 20 tonnes of ephedrine was seized from a Solapur factory earlier this month. According to the Thane police, gangs in India, Poland and some other European countries had planned to send the consignment to Eastern Europe from Mumbai via Gujarat.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Mumbai, May 17: TV actor Manmeet Grewal, who worked on shows like "Aadat Se Majboor" and "Kuldeepak", committed suicide after struggling with dwindling finances amid lockdown, family friend-producer Manjit Singh Rajput said.

Grewal, who was originally from Punjab, hanged himself on Friday night at his Kharghar residence here where he lived with his wife. He was 32.

Rajput, who had known Grewal for nearly seven years, said the actor was facing "financial crisis" and wasn't able to earn due to the lockdown. 

"He was going through a major financial issue and he was also in depression. The added pressure of not being able to repay loans amid this (no work phase) got to him. His wife is completely shocked and devastated," Rajput told PTI.

The producer said last rites of the actor were performed on Saturday. 

Grewal was working on projects like a webseries and some commercials, which were put on hold due to the nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Washington D.C., Jun 7: South Korean pop band BTS and their record label Big Hit Entertainment have donated USD one million to support Black Lives Matter.

According to Variety, the donation was transferred earlier this week, with Black Lives Matter confirming receipt to the label on Friday.

"Black people all over the world are in pain at this moment from the trauma of centuries of oppression. We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies all over the world who stand in solidarity in the fight for Black lives," the outlet quoted Kailee Scales, managing director for Black Lives Matter as saying.

The widely lauded band, earlier on Wednesday, took to Twitter to show their solidarity with the people fighting against the social injustice.

"We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together," the tweet read.

The pledge of the donation from the Korean boy band and its label comes during a time when people and celebrities from the industry have come forward to demonstrate their support for the black community.

Several big names from the music and acting industry also observed 'Blackout Tuesday' earlier the week as a message of solidarity in response o the death of George Floyd, an African-American man in the United States.

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Agencies
June 17,2020

Mumbai, Jun 17: A lawyer on Wednesday moved a criminal complaint against 8 persons, including Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and producer-director Karan Johar, in a local court regarding the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The court had fixed July 3 as the next date of hearing.

In his complaint filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha alleged that these eight persons forced Sushant to commit suicide under a conspiracy which, he pleaded, amounted to murder.

Others named in the complaint are Aditya Chopra, Sajid Nadiadwala, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhushan Kumar, Ekta Kapoor, and director Dinesh.

The complainant claimed that these persons did not let Sushant's movies get released under a conspiracy and the late actor was not even invited to film functions because of these people.

Ojha said that Sushant Singh Rajput's death had not only hurt the people of Bihar but the entire country.

He said the complaint had been filed under Sections 306, 109, 504 and 506 and Bollywood actor Kangana Ranawat had been listed as a witness in the case.

Sushant Singh Rajput had allegedly committed suicide at his Bandra flat in Mumbai on Sunday.

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