Thefirst charge sheet filed in the drugs case probe into the death of Bollywoodactor Sushant Singh Rajput has mentioned briefly about the role of hisgirlfriend Rhea Chakraborty for being instrumental in procuring and financingthe drugs.
Asenior NCB official related to the probe wishing anonymity told, "Therehas been instances in which the role of Rhea has been mentioned briefly in thecharge sheet filed by the NCB in a court here."
TheNCB filed a 11,700 pages charge sheet in the court here earlier in the day. Theofficial said: "Rhea was instrumental in procuring and financingdrugs." He said that Rhea's financial transactions have been corroboratedin the case.
Theofficial pointed out that the cash transactions of Rhea and then digitaltransfers have been mentioned in the charge sheet corroborating the use of themoney for procuring and financing drugs.
Theofficial also said that Rhea's brother, Showik Chakraborty has also been namedin the charge sheet and his relations with drug peddlers Basit Parihar andZayed along with the drug delivering incidents have been collaborated withWhatsapp chats and financial transactions.
Toa question if the drug-law enforcement agency has named Bollywood biggies likeDeepika Padukone, Sara Ali Kha, Shradhha Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh, theofficial said that they have not been named in the charge sheet.
Citingthe reason for not mentioning their names in the charge sheet, the officialexplained that as their statement was "disclosure based".
BesidesRhea and Showik, the NCB has named 31 more people in its first charge sheetthat it filed in the court. The official said that the late actor's ex-managerSamuel Miranda, his house help Dipesh Sawant, drug peddler Anuj Keshwani, fromwhom commercial quantity of drugs (LSD sheets and marijuana) were firstrecovered, figure in the charge sheet.
Thereare two foreign nationals Agisilaos Demetriades, the brother of actor ArjunRampal's South African girlfriend and model Gabriella Demetriades, besidesKshitij Prasad, a former executive producer connected with Dharma Productionsand two college students who are said to be the last mile peddlers, have alsobeen named.
Thesiblings. Rhea and Showik, have not reacted to the new development in the case.
InAugust last year, the NCB Mumbai had registered two cases related to the drugsangle which emerged in the investigations into Sushant's death.
Movingswiftly, the NCB had arrested Rhea and Showik, and several other persons inSeptember last year, creating an upheaval in Bollywood circles.
TheChakraborty siblings and another 23 other arrested-accused are currently out onbail, while 8 remain in custody.
"Outof these 33 persons, 25 have been granted bail by court and 8 remain injudicial custody. Further investigations are on against known-unknown personsand a supplementary charge sheet will be filed as per laws," NCB ZonalDirector Sameer Wankhede said in a statement.
Wankhedesaid that the NCB has seized various narcotic drugs (Charas, Ganja, LSD,Ecstasy) and psychotropic substances (Alprazolam and Clonazepam), Indian andforeign currencies, electronic gadgets and mobiles which were analysed toreveal incriminating evidences pertaining to sale, purchase, procurement,consumption, possession of narcotic drugs.
"Thedrugs seized were sent for chemical examination, and the case was thoroughlyinvestigated on the basis of seizures effected from the accused, voluntarydisclosure (confessions), technical evidences like connectivity through calldetails, WhatsApp chats, bank accounts, financial transactions and other formsof evidences," Wankhede explained.
Onthe morning of June 14, 2020, Sushant, 34, was found hanging at his rented duplexflat in a posh building in Bandra, triggering a massive furore in Bollywood andpolitical circles.
Subsequently,the NCB spread its net wide and questioned several celebrities, including SaraAli Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Rakul Preet Singh, KarishmaPrakash, and nabbed comedian couple Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, whoare now bailed out.
Simultaneously,the NCB has gone hammer and tongs after the drugs mafia in Mumbai with a seriesof seizures and arrests from the city and surroundings in the past six months.
TheMaharashtra government has repeatedly demanded that the CBI should make publicthe findings of the probe into Sushant's death -- whether it was suicide ormurder -- in the public interest.