In the year 2018, the Tollywood drug case gained prominence as six cases were lodged against film industry celebrities. However, a recent court ruling has given relief to these celebrities, finding no evidence linking them to drug use.
Since 2018, after these cases were filed, the Telugu film industry has remained under scrutiny by the Excise department. Notable figures including Puri Jagannath, Charmee, Tarun, Navdeep, Ravi Teja, Shyam K Naidu, Mumait Khan, and Tanish, were embroiled in the drug cases.
A special investigation team SIT was set up by the government for further investigation but no results came. The suspects were questioned and samples of their hair and nails were acquired for testing. Of them, Puri Jagannath and Tarun’s samples were sent to forensic lab and no traces of drugs were found in their body. The excise department is now facing allegations for not properly following the procedures for the investigation. Of the 12 cases, 6 were said to be dismissed due to lack of witnesses.
This development of the case hence provided a big relief to the Telugu film industry which is constantly pointed out for the drugs cases.