The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) probing the drug angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case last week accepted the “voluntarily surrender” of the cell phones of actors Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preet Singh for a detailed examination.
In order to corroborate their submissions made to the NCB, the actors, who appeared before it on Saturday, have voluntarily submitted their mobile phones, something which has been taken on record by investigating officers. Others who have submitted their phones are Deepika’s manager Karishma Prakash, designer Simone Kambhatta and Sushant’s talent manager Jaya Saha.
The NCB on Saturday also arrested Kshijit Prasad, who was briefly associated with filmmaker Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, and claimed to have found documents and WhatsApp chats indicating his alleged involvement in illicit drug trafficking. NCB also claimed to have found a weed joint. The NCB had also questioned Dharma Productions’ Anubhav Chopra in connection with film industry's drug nexus.
In a statement, film-maker Karan Johar had said Prasad joined Dharmatic Entertainment, sister concern of Johar’s Dharma Productions, in November 2019 on a contract basis for a project which did not materialise. Chopra was briefly associated with his banner as an assistant director and worked only on two projects, he said.
The NCB had earlier arrested actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and some suspected drug peddlers. Sushant (34), an emerging Bollywood star, was found hanging in his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14. According to NCB sources, Karishma Prakash’s WhatsApp chats included conversations about drugs with one ‘D’ and the central agency wanted to find out who this person was.
The NCB team also got important information from Sushant's talent manager Jaya Saha. Sara Ali Khan and actor Rakul Preet Singh’s names cropped up during the questioning of Rhea Chakraborty.
Meanwhile, considering the media frenzy around the `A-lister’ Bollywood stars who are being questioned in the case, the Mumbai police issued a warning that media should not engage in reckeless chases of actors’ vehicles.
