The drugs case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has given the NCB an “inkling” of the narcotics network and penetration in Bollywood, a senior officer of the federal agency said on Saturday. Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Deputy Director General of the south-west region, Mutha Ashok Jain, told reporters outside his office in the Ballard Estate area that the agency will take this probe to its “logical conclusion”.
The agency has arrested five people till now in this case including Showik Chakraborty, the brother of main accused and Rajput’s live-in partner Rhea Chakraborty, and the late actor’s house manager Samuel Miranda. Jain said while the NCB’s mandate is to “look for the big fish” and probe international and inter-state drugs transactions, it will “not shirk its responsibility” now that it is getting information about this alleged drugs nexus.
“Normally this is not part of our mandate but now that we are getting information… This case has given us an inkling of the network and the extent of the penetration,” he said when asked if the agency has evidence on the drugs nexus in Bollywood or Hindi movie industry. The NCB, while seeking remand of one of the accused in this case two days ago, had told a court here that it was looking into “the drug citadel in Mumbai, especially Bollywood” in this case.
Jain also said that they will be “asking” Rhea to join probe as that is the “logical progression” in the case. “The whole idea of taking custody remand (of Showik and Miranda) is to make people confront each other to clarify their individual role. So, yes we will be asking her (Rhea) to join investigation and may be some other people because we also need clarity as to who did what,” he said.
He said the agency is moving forward in the case with “solid steps” (‘thok baja ke’) and whosoever found responsible will be called for questioning. Asked if the agency will talk to actor Kangana Ranaut about her recent claims of drug abuse in Bollywood circles, Jain said that “she has no direct connection with this case till now.” “If she (Kangana) shares something, we will see its relevance,” he said.
Jain told the media that he will not “speculate” on who will be arrested next and said he also cannot “discuss evidence” with them that has been obtained by the agency in the case till now. The NCB is probing the narcotics and banned drugs angle in this case under criminal sections of the NDPS Act after the ED shared with it a report following the cloning of two mobile phones of Rhea.
According to officials, the mobile phone chats and messages indicated procurement, transportation and consumption of drugs and these leads were shared by the ED with the NCB and the CBI. The NCB is understood to have obtained the phone records of other accused in the case too.
Rajput was found dead at his flat in suburban Bandra area on June 14.
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