Manas Dasgupta
MUMBAI, Sep 23: Further spreading its dragnet, the Narcotics Control Bureau bringing an end to the speculations has issued summons to actresses Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet and Deepika Padukone and the fashion designer Simone Khambhatta for questioning. The summons were off-shoot of the NCB investigations into the Bollywood-drugs nexus related to the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.
According to various news agency reports, some senior NCB officials have said the actresses had been summoned after their names cropped up during questioning and in WhatsApp chats during the probe.
The sources said Deepika Padukone would appear before NCB on September 25, Rakul Preet and Khambhatta would appear before the probe agency on September 24, and Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan have been asked to come to NCB head office in Mumbai on September 26.
News agency reports quoted a senior NCB official as saying, “Summons have been issued to Deepika, Sara, Shraddha and Rakul for questioning. Besides four Bollywood actors, the NCB has also summoned fashion designer Simone Khambhatta.” The official said that the actors have been summoned after several alleged chats of them discussing drugs came to the fore during the investigation.
This happened after talent manager Jaya Saha, who has emerged as a person of interest for the NCB in the ongoing probe, confessed to procuring drugs for actress Shraddha Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput and film producer Madhu Mantena, sources have said. Jaya’s leaked chats with Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and others has led to the exposure of an alleged Bollywood-drugs nexus.
WhatsApp chats accessed by the NCB have revealed drugs such as marijuana, CBD oil (an extract of cannabis), cocaine and MDMA being used in Bollywood parties.
The NCB has accessed details of a June 22 chat of Madhu Mantena asking Jaya Saha for drugs. The NCB is claimed to be in possession of this drugs conversation between the two and the arrest of Jaya in this connection can not be ruled out.
So far, the NCB has arrested Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda, personal staff Dipesh Sawant and some others in the case.
While probing the drug’s connection in Sushant death case, the NCB earlier summoned Deepika Padukone’s manager Karishma Prakash and CEO of the Kwan talent management agency Dhruv Chitgopekar.
Sources said summons were issued after the NCB retrieved some WhatsApp conversations of these actresses which hint at discussing drugs. Some WhatsApp messages were found from Karishma’s phone, which reveal a conversation between one “D” and “K” on banned drugs.
Some reports claimed that startling revelations on the alleged Bollywood-drugs nexus also came out during the questioning of Rajput’s former manager Shruti Modi.
The drug racket first coming to light from Rhea Chakraborty’s alleged admissions about her involvement in providing drugs to Sushant has kept expanding with more people being questioned on the issue. Rhea had told the court in her bail plea that she used to procure drugs for Sushant but denied being a part of any drug syndicate.
Besides Rhea, her brother Showik Chakraborty, SSR’s manager Samuel Miranda, domestic help Dipesh Sawant, were also arrested by the NCB. The court has rejected the bail pleas of Rhea, her brother and five others and extended their judicial custody till October 6.
Sushant was found hanging in his Bandra’s Mont Blanc apartment on June 14. While the CBI is investigating the SSR death case, the Enforcement Directorate entered the scene to probe money-laundering charges levelled against Rhea Chakraborty.
NCB is the third central agency to probe into the death case of Sushant. The apex drug law enforcement agency started the probe after ED retrieved some WhatsApp chats from Rhea’s phone which hinted at the use of banned drugs.