A special narcotics court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of actor Rhea Chakraborty until October 6. Rhea is in Byculla Jail after her arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on September 8, in connection with the drug probe related to the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
The actor was produced before the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court at 1.40pm on Tuesday through video-conferencing. The court then extended her judicial custody till October 6.
An earlier bail plea filed by Rhea before the special court was rejected, with the court citing that if she was released, she was likely to alert others or destroy evidence.
Appearing for the agency, Special Public Prosecutor Atul Sarpande on Tuesday filed a plea before the court seeking permission for the NCB to record further statements of Rhea’s brother Showik Chakraborty and Rajput’s personal staff Dipesh Sawant in connection with the case. The plea will be heard on Wednesday.
Showik's friend Suryadeep Malhotra, who was arrested recently and sent to judicial custody last week after his custodial interrogation ended, has filed a bail plea, which too will be heard on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, terming the entire probe against her a 'witch-hunt', Rhea, moved the Bombay High Court seeking bail on Tuesday, claiming innocence in the matter.
A bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal is likely to hear Rhea and her brother Showik's bail pleas on Wednesday.
According to Rhea's counsel Satish Maneshinde, the actress has some new grounds which to seek bail. "There are some new grounds now," the counsel told The Free Press Journal.
"This probe against my client is purely an example of a witch-hunt. She is innocent," Maneshinde added.
The counsel further said, the NCB had a weak case, as there is no possession as such by his client. "We will argue on section 27 (A) specifically, which penalises illicit trafficking and also bars a court from granting bail to an accused," the counsel said.
"As far as my client is concerned, there is no recovery of any drugs from her person. Thus, there is no question of applicability of section 27 (A), since she isn't a member of any illicit drug trafficking syndicate," Maneshinde said.
Notably, Justice Kotwal, while hearing the bail pleas of other accused in the drugs case, had observed that the NCB is free to probe any person, even if there is no recovery.
