Representational imageGachibowli, a major IT suburb of Hyderabad, is located 22 kilometers away from the capital city. The hub of all the IT/ITeS businesses in Hyderabad, it was Andhra chief minister Chandrababu Naidu's dream project when he was in power of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state.
If you travel along the busy Mumbai-Nagpur super-expressway, a signboard with glossy letters ‘BPM’ engraved in gleaming metal can be seen on a huge compound wall of a sprawling building at a quiet, sleepy area. BPM is the abbreviation of ‘Beats Per Minute’.
BPM is a hi-fi pub owned by Telugu actor Pallapollu Navdeep, who has been linked with a high-end drugs racket that was busted by the Hyderabad police on July 2. He was summoned by the Special Investigation Tam (SIT) after his phone number was found among the contacts of Calvin Mascarenhas, the alleged kingpin of the racket.
When the probe snowballed into a major embarrassment for Tollywood, the operators decided to temporarily shut down the pub. The Gothic style castle wears a deserted look now, with only two security officers and a guard dog manning the monster building. A board reading ‘Drunk driving is an offense. Our drivers will be at your service to take you home,” is seen at the entrance. When queried about the locking up of the building, the security personnel said: “We were told not to open the pub till August 6. There are some issues, but we don’t know the details.”
Beats Per Minute pub owned by Telugu actor Pallapollu NavdeepThe pub was closed down two weeks ago as per the directions of the Telangana Excise Department. Until then, the place had been a hotspot for revelers and party lovers, especially celebrities from Tollywood, where they indulged in some unrestricted fun under the night sky regardless of gender or nationality. As the pub is located far away from the hustle and bustle of Hyderabad, it is not easy to reach there.
The celebrations marked with fun and frolics take place behind the high walls divided into two rows. Party-goers will be frisked on entry by the bouncers. After collecting an undisclosed amount as fee, they will be allowed inside, where a paradise of indescribable merrymaking awaits them, according to Excise officials.
As BPM is owned by a prominent actor, the place is frequented by Tollywood personalities. Take a look at the BPM website and you will get an idea of the chic, sophisticated facilities and services provided by the pub. Traces of ancient European architecture can be seen in the exquisitely designed dance arena which resembles spiraling lotus petals.
BPM’s regular visitors are under the Excise Department’s scanner now. Professionals associated with MNCs and employees of IT firms in Cyberabad, who have been questioned in connection with the drug bust case, are suspected to have close links with the notorious pub.
Apart from BPM, the Excise Department has ordered the closure of another late night party spot called ‘The F Club’ located on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The action was taken after interrogations revealed that Calvin Mascarenhas’s network’s tentacles had spread over the club.
Fresh paths of drug trafficking
Andhra Pradesh has long been known as a transit hub for smuggling narcotic substances to various parts of the country. It is a known fact that opium and other drugs flooding the markets in Goa and Kerala originate from Andhra’s remote villages. With the formation of Telangana state, most of the traditional drug trafficking routes were closed down, forcing the peddlers to explore other options.
The illegal trade now takes place through 'Darknet', a restricted online network frequently used in illegal activities. The name and address of registered users will be kept strictly confidential. The racketeers would sell high-end drugs such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and MDMA (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) after placing orders for them through the Darknet.
The drugs, procured from countries like Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria and South Africa, will be delivered to customers by courier. African nationals, especially Nigerians staying illegally in the city after the expiry of their visa period, are said to be acting as vital links in the drug supply chain.
Notably, those who arrested in connection with the online drug racket case included American and Dutch citizens among other nationals. Also, as many as seven IT professionals working with global tech firms based in Cyberabad were also nabbed by the police along with Calvin Mascarenhas.
SIT head gets threat call
The SIT investigation into the Hyderabad-based drug racket is investigated by a special team headed by Akun Sabharwal IPS. The young officer, known for upholding rule of law without fear or favor, has been a headache for the Hyderabad-based drug mafia ever since he took charge as the state excise enforcement director.
As the Telugu film industry started squirming under the drug probe ‘limelight’ following Calvin’s arrest, Sabharwal received a threat call from an unknown overseas number. “We have the details of the schools where your children are studying and we know what time they go to school,” the caller said.
He was further threatened of grave consequences if he went ahead with the probe. Sabharwal, who had requested for a week-long leave to go trekking in the Himalayas, responded firmly to the threat by canceling the leave and intensifying the probe!
Unhealthy trends
Representational imageThe Telugu film industry is the second largest in India after Bollywood. The presence of Ramoji Film City, a dream destination of filmmakers, and Hyderabad’s pleasant climate add to the industry’s charm. Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Tollywood became a part of Telangana state.
That is another side of the story.
There were allegations that the Telangana government had been trying to implicate Andhra-based film financiers in false cases. There is also a section in the industry which wants Tollywood headquarters to be shifted to Visakhapatnam.
In fact, the Telugu cinema industry is controlled by a couple of affluent producers and directors. Unlike Mollywood, where superstars call the shots, it is the producers who are in complete control over film production in Tollywood. Most of the actors are either offsprings or relatives of those producers or directors.
That is where the unhealthy trends worrying the film industry stem from. Most of these actors resort to short-cuts to get muscles and six-pack abs quickly. There are gymnasiums in and around Hyderabad that promote such anabolic workouts and provide steroids to help young actors pump up their muscles. Excessive and reckless use of such illegal drugs would lead to serious health issues and addiction. Also overuse could cause a dependence syndrome and result in the use of harder drugs.
There are also several stories that remain behind the screen such as incidents of actress being asked to extend sexual favors to get chances.
All these controversies, including the latest drug bust, that revealed the deep and dark side of the glamour world are nothing new to Tollywood. The industry believes that as the events fade in public memory, the issues would lose their salience.
However, some mysterious accidental deaths of Tollywood celebrities in the past have started to resurface with the busting of drug peddling racket.
(To be continued)
