Tollywood actor Rana Daggubati on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a 2017 drug case.

The ‘Baahubali’ fame actor reached the ED office here around 10 a.m. and walked in as a posse of security personnel escorted him through a battery of media lensmen vying with each other to capture the moment.

Rana is likely to be questioned by ED sleuths about his bank details and financial transactions as part of the probe into suspected links of some celebrities with the accused involved in the case.

Rana is the fifth Tollywood personality to appear before ED. Director Puri Jagannadh and actors Charmee Kaur, Rakul Preet Singh and Nandu were questioned since August 31.

The ED had last month issued notices to 10 persons connected to Tollywood and two others including a private club manager as part of a money laundering probe linked to the case related to the smuggling of ‘Class A’ narcotic substances, including LSD and MDMA.

Nandu was questioned for more than eight hours on Tuesday. Main accused in the case Calvin Mascarenhas and two others were also grilled by the ED sleuths on Tuesday.

Actors Ravi Teja, Navdeep. Mumaith Khan, Tanish and Ravi Teja’s driver Srinivas have also been summoned by the ED in connection the drugs racket which was busted with the arrest of drug peddlers in 2017.

Rana and Rakul Preet did not figure in the list of Tollywood celebrities questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Telangana’s prohibition and excise department in 2017.

However, Rakul Preet was questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau, Mumbai, last year in an alleged drugs nexus in Bollywood.

The drugs racket was busted on July 2, 2017 when customs officials arrested Calvin Mascarenhas, a musician, and two others and seized drugs worth Rs 30 lakh from their possession.

They had reportedly told the investigators that they are supplying drugs to film celebrities, software engineers, and even students of some corporate schools. Mobile numbers of some Tollywood celebrities were allegedly found in their contact lists.

The excise department had constituted SIT for a comprehensive probe. A total of 12 cases were registered, 30 people were arrested while 62 individuals including 11 people connected with Tollywood were examined by the SIT under section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and section 161 of Criminal Procedure Code.

The SIT had collected blood, hair, nail and other samples from some of those who appeared before it for question and sent them for analysis.

The SIT filed charge sheet in eight out of 12 cases. It, however, gave clean chit to the film personalities who were questioned as part of the investigation.

Actor Rana Daggubati on Wednesday uploaded a video flexing muscle in his latest Instagram post.

The actor, who had undergone a tremendous physical transformation for his role as the beefy antagonist Bhallaldeva in the “Baahubali” films, had eventually leaned down for his subsequent projects.

However, going by the video and its captions, it seems the actor missed his muscles.

“Welcome back old friend. WIP,” he wrote.

Within a few hours of the upload, Ranapost was flooded with compliments from friends and fans.

The actor is reportedly gearing up for his yet-to-be announced multilingual pan-India action film, which requires him to once again undergo intense physical transformation.

The actor was recently seen in Telugu film “Aranya”, which was released in Tamil as “Kaadan”. He will next be seen in Telugu film “Virata Parvam”, which also stars Sai Pallavi in the lead role. The film is directed by Venu Udugula.

Rana Daggubati who was seen beefing up for his role in Baahubali suffered from health issues and turned lean. He suffered with kidney issues and recovered well after he got operated in USA. The actor is busy with movies but he is criticized for his lean looks. Rana Daggubati is known for his powerful roles and his ultra lean look turned out to be a barrier for the actor. As per the latest update, Rana Daggubati is on a new mission and is all set to gain enough muscle soon.

Rana needs to take up Hiryanyakashyapa next year and he should look bulky with huge muscle in the film. Apart from this, he also has a couple of pending projects and Rana has to change up his looks. For all these, the actor is on a mission and is gaining weight during the break. His next film Viraata Parvam is waiting for the right release date. He will resume the shoot of Ayyappanum Koshiyum remake with Pawan Kalyan very soon and the film may release for Sankranthi next year.

Rana Daggubati is one actor who is keen on picking up interesting scripts rather than commercial capers. The youngster completed a bunch of projects and has enough in the pipeline. The talented actor is also in talks with digital giants like Netflix to produce content-driven projects in the coming years. Rana Daggubati is in talks with Gruham fame Milind Rau from more than a year and a half and the project got finalized recently. Rana essays the role of a cop in this supernatural action thriller which will roll soon.

Rana Daggubati will complete his portions of the shoot for Ayyappanum Koshiyum remake along with Pawan Kalyan after which he will start Milind Rau’s project. The film will be made as a pan Indian project and veteran producer Achanta Gopinath will produce this film. More details about the project will be announced officially very soon.