Sandalwood drugs case: Vivek Oberoi's Mumbai house searched by K'taka Police

The Bengaluru police's Central Crime Branch on Thursday searched Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi's house in Mumbai for an absconding accused in the high-profile drugs case involving Sandalwood stars Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani.

Acting on a tip-off that accused Aditya Alva - who is the brother-in-law of Oberoi - may be hiding at his home, the team carried out a search operation for over two hours.

Alva has been absconding since the case came to light last month.

The CCB, about a fortnight ago, searched a resort owned by Alva at Bengaluru's Hebbal where high-end parties, in which drugs were allegedly supplied, were held.

Alva is not only Oberoi's brother-in-law but comes from an influential family in Karnataka. He is a son of late minister, Jeevraj Alva and his mother, Nandini Alva is a famous dancer who is also one of the architects of Bengaluru Habba, a cultural fest that was launched in 2000 to highlight Bengaluru as a cultural hub.

In a statement, Bengaluru's Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Sandeep Patil stated that the CCB had obtained a warrant from the court to conduct search operations in Mumbai.

CCB sources told reporters that it was learnt that Alva was given shelter by Oberoi ever since he fled from Bengaluru.

"We had got concrete information that he was hiding in Oberoi's house in Mumbai. So, we obtained a search warrant from the court last night and left for Mumbai," a source said, adding that the search was still going on.

The CCB had also issued a lookout notice against Alva almost three weeks ago.

Routine raids on peddlers in Bengaluru had resulted in the CCB launching a widespread hunt for those involved in drugs supply case.

Apart from actresses Ragini and Sanjjanaa, rave party organiser Viren Khanna, realty businessman Rahul Thonse and some foreigners are among over a dozen persons arrested so far in the case, which came to light after a similar drugs racket rocked Bollywood in the past couple of months.