Kochi: Drug raid by high-ranking Excise officials at hotel room where Najeem Koya stayed clearly has conspiracy behind, said FEFKA General Secretary and Director B Unnikrishnan. Shadow police will not be allowed on shooting sets, he added.. Not against legal searches, but hunting down individuals is unacceptable, said Unnikrishnan.
The raid was conducted based on some false tip. The officials barged into the suite shouting “Hand out the stuff”. The officers sent Najeem’s associate Sunil and writer out of the room before proceeding to search. Two hours of search came up empty following which, they tried to break down Najeem mentally with interrogation, said Unnikrishnan.
Najeem offered that they take him for a medical examination to the hospital. However the sleuths were in no mood to heed and went about turning the room inside out. They said they had solid information to back up their raid. It appears someone thoroughly misled this agency, said Unnikrishanan at a press conference, adding that, there is big conspiracy involved. Najeem Koya too was present at the conference.
The raid took place Monday at Hotel Maurya in Erattupetta. Unnikrishan said he lodged complaint with the Chief Minister and the Excise Minister. He also opposed Kochi Commissioner’s statement that shadow police shall be deployed on film sets to watch for and prevent drug use on sites.
Shadow police cannot be allowed on shooting sets. The crew would be able to recognise these cops, said Unnikrishnan adding that, he would oppose to keeping film sector under 24-hour surveillance.
Najeem Koya is Malayalam film director and screenwriter. He wrote the script for 2010 release “Apporvaragam” and for the movie “Friday” in 2012. He later wrote movie script for “2 Countries”, and “Sherlock Homes”, He directed film “Kali” in 2017 and is currently directing episodes on web series.
