editorial comment One more dangerous criminal behind bars. The children can sleep tonight (but paraphernalia guesses the women can't drive)

India has sought consular access to Bollywood actor Vijay Raaz, who was allegedly caught with narcotics at the Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

Indian Ambassador to UAE, Sudhir Vyas, is also learnt to have sought a report on the case against Raaz. Vyas even visited the Emirates foreign office to ascertain the case details, but no information on the charges were forthcoming till late tonight.

Although an official reaction to the Ambassador’s written request is awaited, diplomatic sources in the UAE confirmed that Raaz has allegedly confessed to carrying two sticks of marijuana to Abu Dhabi customs.

Raaz, who hit the limelight in the role of a wedding organiser in US-based Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, is understood to be in a tough spot as anti-narcotics laws in the Gulf kingdom are extremely strict and can fetch a sentence of seven years if the charges are proved.

Raaz was held on the morning of February 14, after he flew into Abu Dhabi by an Etihaad Airlines flight from Mumbai, en route to Dubai for the shoot of Deewane Hue Paagal, directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Feroze Nadiadwala.

Back in Mumbai, Raaz’s wife Krishna is inconsolable. ‘‘Vijay is innocent,’’ sobbed Krishna at Tips Music’s trendy office at Linking Road, Bandra (West), on Wednesday. ‘‘We have been married for 10 years, but I know him since 12 years. He is a gentleman and a loving, caring person.’’

‘‘We are worried about Vijay,’’ said Nadiadwala from Dubai. ‘‘We cannot concentrate on our work. We have started legal proceedings with the Dubai police for his release.’’

The Gulf region has strict anti-narcotics laws. Sources say that a son of a top Indian banker is currently serving a prison sentence for carrying drugs. He has served one-and-a-half years but Abu Dhabi shows no signs of demitting his sentence.

As Thursday and Friday are holidays in the Emirates, Raaz will, at best, be produced in the Abu Dhabi court on Saturday—if the Abu Dhabi Customs has prepared the case against him. Vyas has reportedly visited UAE’s foreign office to seek details.

Krishna met Raaz while doing theatre in Delhi. A National School of Drama graduate, Raaz hit the headlines as Dubey from Chandni Chowk in Monsoon Wedding (2001).

‘‘Usually Vijay calls me once a day from wherever he is,’’ she says. ‘‘They allowed him to just say hello to me on Tuesday evening. Then the line was disconnected. Uske liye dua karo. (Pray for him).’’

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