NCB files charge sheet in drugs case related to Sushant death

    (Eds: adding details)
    Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) The Narcotics Control Bureau on
Friday filed a charge sheet before a special court here in the
drugs case related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death,
naming 33 accused including his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.
    The charge sheet accuses Chakraborty of being part of
a "drug syndicate" and claims she was part of a conspiracy to
procure and supply drugs, NCB sources said.
    Besides Rhea and her brother Showik Chakraborty, other
accused named in the case include Kshitij Prasad, former
executive producer of Dharmatic Entertainment; Deepesh Sawant,
a member of Rajput's domestic staff; suspected drug peddlers
Zaid Vilatra and Abdel Basit Parihar and Samuel Mirnada.
    Of the 33 accused, eight are still in judicial custody
while the rest including Rhea and her brother are out on bail.
    According to the NCB sources, charge sheet claims that
in the last week of November 2019, delivery of drugs was made
at Rhea's residence with her consent.
    She allowed Rajput to use her house for drugs
consumption, and also provided money for purchase of drugs,
thus `financing an activity' related to illicit drug dealings,
the agency alleged.
    She had also facilitated "a channel of supply" of
drugs with the help of her brother and it was clear from her
statement that she was an "active member of the drug
syndicate", and conspired to "procure, possess, sell and
transport, import interstate, export interstate and deal with
ganja, marijuana, bud", the charge sheet said, as per the
sources.
    Co-accused Miranda told the agency that in November
2019 he paid suspected peddler Karamjeet Singh Anand for two
packets of ganja and gave them to Showik, sources said.
    The payment was allegedly made from Rajput's funds.
    A substantial quantity of narcotic drugs including
charas, ganja, LSD, Ecstacy and psychotropic substances
Alprazolam and Clonazepam were seized besides Indian and
foreign currency during investigation, the agency claimed.
    The charge sheet includes statements of some 160
witnesses and consists of a total of about 11,700 pages.
    Due to "ecological concerns" a large portion of the
annexures was submitted to the court in electronic form, NCB
officials said.
    Besides WhatsApp, the accused were using other
messaging apps including Telegram too, officials said.
    The NCB has invoked various sections of the Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the case.
    Apart from charges related to supply and procurement
of drugs, some of the accused are charged with financing
illicit trafficking and harboring offenders.
    The NCB began probing the alleged use of drugs in some
quarters in Bollywood after the death of Rajput (34) in June
last year. The central agency started its probe on the basis
of some WhatsApp chats having reference to drugs.
    Statements of Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone,
Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan had also been recorded
during the probe. PTI AVI DC NP KRK
KRK KRK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)