Bengaluru: Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor’s son, Siddhanth Kapoor (37), and four others were arrested for consumption of drugs during a raid by Bengaluru city police at The Park Hotel, in the central business district here, late Sunday night. Siddhanth’s sister, Shraddha Kapoor, is also an actor.

According to police, Siddhanth, an actor and assistant director in Bollywood, was the DJ at a party in the hotel. The others arrested were Akhil Soni (28), business manager with a private firm; Harjoth Singh (28), operational head of a logistics firm; Akhil (23), a freelance photographer; and Hani Rafeeque (25), who is in digital marketing.

All five accused were released on station bail Monday midnight. ACP (east) Subramanyeshwar Rao said that Ulsoor police raided the hotel late on Sunday night based on a tip-off about the use of banned substances at the party.

“There were more than 100 people at the party, and some of them escaped from the premises. Police managed to catch 35 people and subjected them to medical examinations. Urine tests of five of those caught confirmed drug consumption,” said Rao. He added that Ulsoor police arrested the five youths and further procedures and investigations are underway.

The arrested were to be produced before a magistrate on Monday evening. According to sources, there were 14 women among the 35 who underwent medical tests.

DCP (east) Bheemashankar Guled said, “Siddhanth Kapoor, who is the son of Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor, is among those who tested positive for drug consumption.”

Guled said, “The police team searched the premises and found two packets of drugs near the dustbin. There were seven MDMA tablets in one packet and ganja weighing around 5 to 10 gm in another packet. We have seized CCTV footage from the place and are verifying it to find out who threw the drugs into the dustbin. We will book them for peddling drugs and take appropriate action.”

Police officials said that the raid began around midnight and ended at around 3 am Monday. 

Preliminary investigation reveals that a production house was behind the party. Police plan to serve notices on the hotel and party organisers. Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra said, “Bangalore police have arrested an actor on charges of drug consumption, and legal action will be taken. The government will take measures to curb the sale and use of drugs. We request everyone to join hands in the fight against drug addiction.”

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Bollywood actor Siddhanth Kapoor made national headlines on Monday after police swooped down on a party at a Bengaluru hotspot on Sunday night. Siddhanth, son of actor Shakti Kapoor, was one of the five persons detained by the police.

Promotional material from the hotspot’s page showed that Siddhanth, who goes by the stage alias DJ Bullzeye, was the headlining act for the Sunday night poolside party.

Bengaluru City’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Bheemashankar S Guled told news agencies that they followed a tip-off and raided the hotel where the party was hosted. Samples of people suspected of having consumed drugs were sent for medical tests and Siddhanth’s sample was allegedly among those that was positive.

Police said it was unclear whether they had consumed drugs at the hotel or had come to the party after taking drugs outside. Speaking to mediapersons, the police said, “This was a party open to the public. When we searched the premises, we found two packets, one of which had some MDMA tablets, while there was ganja in another.”

Police plan to check the CCTV footage to obtain evidence on who threw those packets to book them as peddlers under the NDPS Act. Police said that apart from Siddhanth, three of the people detained include Bengaluru residents, while one is from Punjab.

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Actor Siddhanth Kapoor is the latest Bollywood celeb to get entangled in a drug controversy. The son of actor Shakti Kapoor and brother of actor Shraddha Kapoor, he was detained in Bengaluru after he was found allegedly consuming drugs at a rave party on Sunday night and tested positive for drugs in a blood report. ANI reported that the 37-year-old was detained along with five others during a police raid.

His father was in a state of shock as he woke up to the news. When contacted, Shakti said, “I’m in Mumbai and I don’t know what is happening. I got to know from news channels only. All I know as of now is that there is no arrest and Siddhanth has only been detained.” When we asked Shakti if Siddhanth was in Bengaluru for work, he shared, “Yes, he is a DJ (disc jockey) and he plays at parties, and that’s what he was in Bengaluru for. I don’t know where these reports are coming from.” 

According to police, the rave party was going on at a posh hotel on MG Road on Sunday night. But Shakti remained unsure if it was the same party where his son was playing.

“I will talk to my son very soon and get the details. But I know this can’t be true,” he added. Siddhanth’s aunt, actor Tejaswini Kolhapure, was “not aware” of the entire episode when we rang her in to enquire about the news. “I have no idea. I have had a working day, and I’ve just woken up to this news,” she shared. 

Siddhanth’s friend, actor Luv Sinha, however, took to Twitter to address his concern with multiple tweets: “I’m against the consumption of drugs, but until the rot in the justice system has been cleaned up, things won’t improve. Arrest the producers, dealers and not just the users who may get addicted to a substance that can affect their lives negatively and have an impact on so many others indirectly. I hope that my friend Siddhanth comes out of this stronger and wiser.”

Siddhanth has featured in films such as Shootout At Wadala (2013), Jazbaa (2015), Haseena Parkar (2017), among others.