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Actress Charmee Kaur appears before ED in PMLA case

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Tollywood actress Charmee Kaur on Thursday appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe linked to four-year-old drug case.

Charmee reached the ED office in Hyderabad around 10.30 a.m. As she was getting down from the car, a large number of waiting camera persons and photographers moved closer to her, leading to chaos. She requested the camera persons to give her way.

The actress’ personal security personnel intervened to make way for her to enter the ED office.

She is the second Tollywood personality to appear before ED. Earlier, director Puri Jagannadh was questioned for nearly 10 hours on Tuesday.

The ED last week issued notices to 10 persons connected to Tollywood and two others including a private club manager as part of a money laundering probe linked to the drugs racket.

Actors Rakul Preet Singh, Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja, Charmee Kaur, Navdeep, Mumaith Khan and director Puri Jagnnadh have been asked to appear before ED between August 31 and September 22.

Tanish, Nandu, actor Ravi Teja’s driver Srinivas are also among those summoned in connection the drugs racket which was busted with the arrest of drug peddlers in 2017.

The ED also gathered details of the investigations conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Telangana’s prohibition and excise department.

The drugs racket was busted on July 2, 2017 when customs officials arrested Calvin Mascarenhas, a musician, and two others and seized drugs worth Rs 30 lakh from their possession.

They had reportedly told the investigators that they are supplying drugs to film celebrities, software engineers, and even students of some corporate schools. Mobile numbers of some Tollywood celebrities were allegedly found in their contact lists.

The excise department had constituted SIT for a comprehensive probe. A total of 12 cases were registered, 30 people were arrested while 62 individuals including 11 people connected with Tollywood were examined by the SIT under section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and section 161 of Criminal Procedure Code.

The SIT had collected blood, hair, nail and other samples from some of those who appeared before it for questioning and sent them for analysis.

Actors Ravi Teja, Charmme Kaur, Mumaith Khan, director Puri Jagannath and young actors Tarun Kumar and P. Navadeep were among the stars who were questioned by the SIT.

Cinematographer Shyam K. Naidu, actors Subbaraju, Tanish, Nandu and Ravi Teja’s driver Srinivas were also among those questioned.

The SIT filed charge sheet in eight out of 12 cases. It, however, gave clean chit to the film personalities who were questioned as part of the investigation.

Bollywood

Saif Ali Khan stabbing case: Actor met rickshaw driver in hospital ahead of getting discharged

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Mumbai, Jan 22: A day after Saif Ali Khan was discharged, pictures of the auto-rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana posing with the Bollywood star in the hospital before he left for home started to do the rounds on social media.

Rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana was the one who took Saif to Lilavati hospital on January 16 after the Bollywood star was stabbed multiple times during a robbery attempt in his house in wee hours.

Before leaving the hospital for home, Saif personally called the rickshaw driver to meet him at the hospital.

In one image, the auto-rickshaw driver is sitting next to Saif on the hospital bed as they smile at the camera. Saif’s bruised hand is on Bhajan Singh Rana’s shoulder. In another photograph, the duo are standing and smiling at the lens.

The 54-year-old star, who is married to Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, thanked the rickshaw driver and told him to feel free to ask for help whenever he needed.

Saif along with his veteran-actress mother Sharmila Tagore, expressed their gratitude towards Bhajan Singh Rana.

As per sources, Saif praised the rickshaw driver for his work and said: “Keep helping others like this. And as for the fare that day, don’t worry, it will be taken care of.”

He jokingly added: “If you ever need help in life, remember me.”

When Bhajan Singh Rana was asked how he reached the hospital, as all the media personnel were present, he told Media: “I entered the hospital wearing a mask.”

The auto rickshaw driver said that he had first got a call from Saif’s personal assistant.

He said that he “ just prayed” that the actor gets well.

“I took a few selfies with him. I took a few photos with him.”

The driver recalled the night, when Saif was stabbed and said that the actor asked him to drive slowly as it was a “little painful.”

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Bollywood

Feroz Abbas calls performing ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’ at Taj Mahal ‘a tribute’

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Mumbai, Jan 22: Feroz Abbas Khan is currently busy with ‘Mughal-e-Azam: The Musical’. As part of the musical, the iconic love song “Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” from the movie “Mughal-e-Azam” was staged at the Taj Mahal on 14th Jan 2025 this year.

“Mughal-e-Azam: The Musical” will take place till 23rd February, 2025. It will mark the end of the Delhi run for this epic masterpiece. Before performing in Delhi, the musical is expected to be performed in Mumbai at NMACC till 26th January 2025.

Talking about the emotional experience, Feroz Abbas Khan revealed, “We wanted to celebrate the enduring legacy of love by performing ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’ in front of the Taj Mahal. Incidentally, Shakeel Badayuni who wrote this definitive love anthem also praised the Taj for being a monument to love in another famous song. In a way, our performance was a tribute to Shakeel saab, to Naushad ji who tuned both the songs, to the Taj and to love that transcends all barriers.”

He further added, “While distilling K Asif’s timeless epic into a stage production, we did not anticipate the momentous journey it would go on to undertake across the globe. The fact that we are now all set to stage our 300th performance in Delhi has an enormous personal significance for all of us.”

Meanwhile, producer Deepesh Salgia was quoted saying, “Shapoorji Pallonji has been associated with the magnificence of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ for over 75 years in its cinematic as well as musical form. Be it the luxurious production canvas or the marketing campaign, we have always worked towards setting new benchmarks. In the same spirit, the performance at the Taj is our tribute to the concluding season of the musical in Delhi.”

The musical features more than 550 exquisite costumes, breathtaking sets, live singing, and stunning Kathak choreography.

Directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, ‘Mughal-E-Azam: The Musical’ has been produced by Deepesh Salgia, under the assistance of Shapoorji Pallonji.

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Bollywood

Saif Ali Khan case: Mumbai Police find clues from crime scene

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Mumbai, Jan 22: The Mumbai Police have recovered a piece of cloth from actor Safi Ali Khan’s apartment which belongs to accused Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad, the Bangladeshi national arrested in the attack case.

Sources said the Bandra police recovered cloth from Khan’s house, which the accused used to cover his face. The cloth fell from his face in Saif’s son Jahangir’s room during the scuffle.

The cloth can be seen in the CCTV footage when Shehzad is climbing up the stairs before committing the crime. The police have sent the cloth and hair samples for DNA testing to the forensic department.

Earlier, the officials said that Shehzad had entered the actor’s building, Satguru Sharan, in the Bandra area by scaling its compound wall and found the security guards sleeping.

Sources said that both the security guards in the building were sleeping when the attacker entered it by crossing over the boundary wall.

The sources further said that as Shehzad found both the security guards sleeping, he entered the building from the main entrance where no CCTV camera exists. The accused removed his shoes and kept them in his bag to avoid making any noise. He also switched off his phone.

The police on Tuesday recreated the crime scene with the accused at the building. Police took the accused wherever he went after fleeing from Saif Ali Khan’s house. Shehzad was taken to the garden near the Satguru Sharan building and then to the National College Bus Stop where he was said to have stopped and stayed for a while after committing the crime. During the probe, the police took Shehzad to the Bandra Railway Station from where he had fled. Police are trying to find out how he reached the station.

The police were trying to record the chain of events starting from Shehzad’s entry to the building to his fleeing before being arrested.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times by Shehzad inside his apartment in the early hours of January 16. The actor underwent emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital and was discharged on Tuesday. Three days after the attack, the police arrested the accused from neighbouring Thane city.

A court in Mumbai on Sunday remanded the accused in five-day police custody.

Shehzad, a native of Jhalokathi district in Bangladesh was residing in Mumbai for over five months. He had been working odd jobs and was associated with a housekeeping agency, the police have said.

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