Mamta Kulkarni resurfaces after HC quashes ₹2,000 cr drug case
Mamta shared a video talking about her 'emotional' return to Mumbai after 25 years; what is the ₹2,000 crore drug case she was allegedly involved in?
Former Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni, who starred in hit Hindi films like ‘Karan Arjun’ in the 1990s, has resurfaced all of a sudden after many years.
Sharing a video on Instagram, the actress announced that she was back in Mumbai now after a gap of 25 years and also said she was “emotional” and “overwhelmed” to be back home to 'Amchi Mumbai'.
Talking about her feelings returning to Mumbai, she pointed out that she is back in 2024, after leaving India in the year 2000.
“I’m here and I’m really overwhelmed; I don’t know how to express it. I’m emotional. When the flight landed or before the flight landed, I was seeing on my left and right. I saw my country from the top after 24 years and I became emotional,” she said.
Further, she claimed that she had “tears” in her eyes and once she entered International Mumbai Airport, she became extremely overwhelmed again. Earlier, Kulkarni had visited the Kumbh Mela in 2012 and claimed that she is now back to attend the 2025 edition.
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Bombay high court quashes case
Kulkarni, who was an accused in a 2016 high-profile drug case, was facing extradition proceedings in Kenya, where she had been living with her partner, Vicky Goswami, an alleged international drug trafficker.
However, recently, a Bombay High Court division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande struck down the case against her.
The judges acknowledged that apart from the allegations in the FIR, there was no substantial proof against the actress. Kulkarni, who had argued that she was being used as a scapegoat, was granted relief by the court.
What is the drug case?
This drug case, involving an amount of ₹2,000 crore, first came to light in 2016, when the Anti-Narcotics Cell intercepted two vehicles carrying ephedrine worth ₹80 lakh.
The substance was traced to a factory in Solapur, Maharashtra, which was run by Avon Life Sciences Limited. Reports said that Kulkarni's husband, Vicky Goswami controlled the factory and Mamata Kulkarni was a director in the company.
The ephedrine that was seized was supposedly headed to Kenya, where it would be processed into methamphetamine for the US market.
Goswami was allegedly the brain behind the racket, which involved the manufacture and procurement of ephedrine, a controlled substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Subsequently, the police seized 18,000 kg of ephedrine worth ₹2,000 crore from a factory owned by Avon Lifesciences Limited.
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No evidence
Kulkarni was named as an accused alongside her partner, Vicky Goswami.
The police claimed that Kulkarni, who is a director in Avon LifeSciences, was present at a meeting held at the Bliss Hotel in Kenya on January 8, 2016, where details of the drug operation were allegedly discussed.
However, in 2018, Kulkarni approached the high court asking to quash the criminal proceedings against her. She claimed that she was innocent and there was no evidence against her.
According to news reports, the evidence provided by the Thane police against Kulkarni was shaky at best. The charges primarily were based on a statement made by co-accused Jay Mukhi, who retracted his testimony later.. He said he had testified under duress.
The drug scandal ruined her reputation and effectively ended her Bollywood career. Kulkarni now returns to Mumbai having got her name cleared by the court.