Actress Mamta Kulkarni declared fugitive, property may be seize

The crime branch of Thane police, which is investigating an international ephedrine supply racket, on Friday issued a notice of ‘declared proclaimed offender’ to former Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni and her partner and drug lord Vicky Goswami.

In the drugs case of 2000 crores, the court has declared actress Mamta Kulkarni a fugitive. In this case, after the non-bailable arrest warrant was issued by the court, no responce was received from Mamta, Thane Crime Branch informed Mamta’s absconding.

Acting on these information incidents, the court declared Mamata a fugitive and a team of crime branch officials went to Kulkarni’s house at Sky Enclave in Versova, suburban Mumbai, and pasted a notice on the door as the actress’ whereabouts are not known.

Similar notice was pasted at Goswami’s residence in Ahmedabad, said assistant police commissioner Bharat Shelke, the chief investigating officer.

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“According to the procedure, we have taken down the statements of their relatives and neigbours and panchanama has been filed accordingly. It shall be submitted in the court in then next hearing,” said ACP Bharat Shelke, the investigation officer in the case.

“The process will aid the investigators to get Red Corner Notice against the duo,” said the officer.

“If both the accused fail to remain present before Thane police within the given period, we will start the process of seizing their properties with court’s permission,” Shelke told PTI.

A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court recently declared Kulkarni and Goswami as proclaimed offenders and ordered attachment of their properties. Crime branch of Thane police had raided Avon Lifesciences in Solapur in western Maharashtra last year and seized around 18.5 tonne of ephedrine worth Rs 2,000 crore.

According to the police, the ephedrine was being diverted to a Kenya-based drug cartel headed by Goswami where it was used to make the party-drug methamphetamine.

Police have arrested over a dozen people in the case so far. According to the police, Mamta’s whereabouts are not known, whereas Goswami was taken into custody by the US law enforcement agencies some months ago.