For the first time, actor Rhea Chakraborty was questioned by officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau at their south Mumbai office, in connection with the drug angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. She will face another round of questioning on Monday; this, in turn, has fueled the speculation about her impending arrest.Unsubstantiated media reports also said she had admitted to 'procuring drugs' for Sushant but no official account of the questioning was forthcoming from the NCB. However, the 'drug' hypotheses was reinforced with the NCB telling court that Rhea and her brother Showik had “ordered Dipesh Sawant, cook of Sushant Singh Rajput, to receive drugs.” The NCB made the submission at the time it sought Sawant’s custody from the court on Sunday (Details Inside). Sawant had been arrested on Saturday night on charges of procuring and handling drugs. An NCB team reached the actor's residence, from where she was taken to their office.
Sources said Rhea was questioned over chats in a WhatsApp group where drugs were allegedly discussed. “We are recording Rhea’s statement. Due to her late arrival, the investigation could not be completed and she has been summoned tomorrow as well,” said NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.
A statement issued on Sunday morning by Rhea’s counsel, senior advocate Satish Maneshinde, read, “Rhea is ready for arrest as this is a witch-hunt and if loving someone is a crime, she will face the consequences of her love. Being innocent, she has not approached any court for anticipatory bail in all the cases foisted by the Bihar Police, the CBI, the ED and the NCB.”The agency has been probing if Rhea played any role in possession, transportation and consumption of drugs. It had earlier told a court that Rhea’s brother Showik facilitated drug deliveries and another accused, Samuel Miranda, had organised weed for Rajput through Showik’s contacts.
Further, the agency told the court that Miranda had disclosed in his voluntary statement that he had organised weed for Rajput from September last year until March this year through a friend of Showik, Karamjeet, and another supplier.Karamjeet would deliver drugs for Miranda at Waterstones Club (the resort where Rajput and Rhea had stayed), Primrose Apartments (where Rhea’s family reside in Juhu) and Mont Blanc (Rajput’s Bandra residence), the NCB said.
So far, the agency has seized small quantities of drugs from some of the accused arrested in the case. A total 59 grams of curated marijuana was recovered from two persons already arrested, Abbas Lakhani and Karan Arora. Another accused, Kaizan Ebrahim, was held with 0.5 gram of a dark brown coloured substance, purportedly hashish, found at his house, the NCB said.
