After Challenging Star Darshan, Kiccha Sudeep has requested people not to drag Chiranjeevi Sarja's name in the ongoing Sandalwood's drug connection issue. The Kannada actor, who celebrated his 47th birthday recently, said that it was unfair to hurt the family which is yet to recover from the loss.

Chiranjeevi Sarja and Sudeep
Chiranjeevi Sarja and Sudeep.PR Handout

"It's been a few months since we lost Chiranjeevi Sarja. He was like a brother to me. He is survived by a loving wife Meghana Raj and his brother Dhruva, his family is still in grief. It is not fair to cause more hurt to them by bringing up his name in connection to the current scandal," The Times of India quotes him as saying.

However, he refused to comment on the drug mafia in Sandalwood since he is not aware of such elements. Sudeep said that the whole industry should not be projected in the bad light for the mistakes of a few.

Chiranjeevi Sarja died in June after suffering a heart attack. His untimely death came as a shock to the film industry. Recently, filmmaker Indrajith Lankesh triggered a controversy by questioning why post-mortem on the mortal remains of Chiru was not conducted and claimed that the truth would have come out if it was done.

Ragini Dwivedi
A picture of Ragini Dwivedi.PR Handout

Interestingly, Sudeep and Indrajith Lankesh were seen together at Siddaganga Mutt a day later.

Recently, Darshan had echoed the same views and urged media not to speculate names until the NCB officially reveals the names. He claimed that people should not drag the dead person into the controversy.

Meanwhile, Ragini Dwivedi has been taken into the custody for questioning by CCB. It comes after her friend Ravi Shankar was arrested on Thursday.