Mamta Kulkarni's conviction in mammoth drug case is a great fall for the 90s diva
When was the last time you had heard of Mamta Kulkarni? The 90’s sex-symbol has long since become a faded star that gets mentioned only in discussions that involve trashy Bollywood cinema from that era. As fate would have it, however, the actor is back in the spotlight once again, this time for operating a drug racket. A sessions court in Thane declared Mamta Kulkarni and her partner Vicky Goswami offenders in the Rs 2,000 crore drug haul (ephedrine) on 6 June, 2017.
"It is pronounced and declared that accused Vicky Goswami and Mamta Kulkarni are proclaimed offenders. The immovable properties belonging to the accused be attached," special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court judge HM Patwardhan said in the order.
Following the order, special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray told PTI, "Now, the law-enforcing agencies have to act and the police have to file the compliance report within 30 days about the execution of the order. It also gives power to police to attach the properties of the accused."
In 2016, two drug peddlers – Sagar Suresh Powale and Mayur Suresh Sukhdare – were arrested by the Thane police, after being discovered with Rs 12 lakh worth of ephedrine, a medicinal drug that is also used recreationally. In fact, ephedrine is listed as a table-I precursor under the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. When Powale and Sukhdare were questioned, they revealed they had sourced the drug from a factory in Solpaur.
The factory, Avon Life Sciences Pvt Ltd, upon being raided by the police, yeilded close to 20 tonnes of ephedrine, that has been valued at Rs 2,000 crore. According to the police, the ephedrine was being sent to a Kenya-based drug cartel which was headed by Goswami, where it was used to make the methamphetamines.
Kulkarni who has been far away from Bollywood, last appeared in Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum. She is best known for her roles in Karan Arjun, Krantiveer, Aashiq Awara and Tirangaa.
A desi Breaking Bad may not be in the pipeline, but Mamta Kulkarni sure is planning to give Walter White a run for his money, eh?