The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) may confront Australian national Paul Bartel with Agisilaos Demetriades, the brother of actor Arjun Rampal’s girlfriend.
The agency, on Friday, arrested Bartel who has been sent to judicial custody. It may confront him with Demetriades based on the investigation. “Investigations have revealed that Bartel consumed at least three types of drugs,” said an officer privy to the investigation. Bartel was arrested for his alleged links with Demetriades. To recall, the agency has termed Demetriades ‘as part of the drug syndicate and has been in touch with the other accused arrested in the case related to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’.
The agency may confront the duo to ascertain the source of the drugs allegedly consumed. It has not recovered any drugs in Bartel’s possession during the searches conducted at his premises. Sources said that the agency is likely to question more people in the case to ascertain if Bartel had passed on the drugs to anyone. The further links of Bartel and Demetriades are under scrutiny through technical analysis.
Bartel is the second foreign national to be arrested in the case that has been in the spotlight as the NCB has been probing Bollywood celebrities in connection with it. Agisilaos, a South African national, became the first foreigner to be arrested in the case. He has been charged under section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Sources said that Bartel is employed with a multinational firm.
The agency may also ask actor Arjun Rampal to appear again for interrogation. It is also investigating the medicines procured by the actor that are regulated under the NDPS Act. Rampal has provided the prescriptions of the medicine to the agency and said that he was cooperating with the investigations and had nothing to do with drugs.
