Mumbai: The drug chats a talking point on national TV on Monday night are throwing up names of A-listers who are allegedly hooked to both recreational and hard narcotics.
At the core of these allegations are big names that possibly cropped up during Rhea Chakrabortys interrogation by the National Narcotics Bureau. Some of these names were being identified as D, K and S earlier in the day on the social media. But by late evening the social media and TV channels, too, had muddied the waters, dropping all pretensions about sticking to acronyms. The pressure of breaking news notwithstanding, the FPJ will refrain from being drawn into the muck raking.
As per authoritative sources, Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh and Simone Khambatta are the celebrities who will be summoned this week by the Narcotics Control Bureau in their ongoing probe linked to the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
Sara, daughter of actor Saif Ali Khan, featured with Rajput in the 2018 film, Kedarnath. Singh has featured in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. Khambatta is a fashion designer. The trio will be summoned this week, said a senior NCB officer on Monday.
The names of the three celebrities allegedly cropped up during the investigation of actor Chakraborty, who was placed under arrest on September 8 after being questioned for three days. The agency has termed Rhea as an active member of the drug syndicate.
Rhea had earlier denied the allegations, stating that there was no charge of consumption, possession or seizure of drugs against her and brother Showik, who has also been arrested in the case.
Rakul Preet Singh had moved the Delhi High Court last week seeking to stop media reports from connecting her with the case. Singh has told court that Rhea had already retracted her alleged statement on September 10. The agency began their probe after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) handed them alleged incriminating chats of Chakraborty. The agency has been questioning and arresting people based on the details of the chats recovered from the phones of people, some of whom were acquaintances of the late actor.
The agency is analysing the chats where drugs have been allegedly discussed and confronting the arrested accused with them. The investigations pertain to drug consumption and sale and whether the late actor had been provided with banned substances. Based on the chats and investigations, the agency has made arrests in the city and Goa, including peddlers of contraband to high-profile clients.
Meanwhile, Shruti Modi, the former business manager of Rajput and talent manager Jaya Saha have been asked to appear before the agency on Tuesday. Saha was questioned on Monday as well. She is under the scanner over alleged chats recovered between her and Rhea about CBD (Cannabidiol) oil, among other allegations. The agency is likely to summon another Bollywood actor who was also in conversation with Saha.
