Actress Rhea Chakraborty, jailed for the alleged crime of procuring drugs for her late boyfriend, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that three central investigative agencies have unleashed a “witch hunt” against her. She also argued that the investigation carried out by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was illegal as it had no jurisdiction to investigate the drug’s link to the premature death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The lawyer for the 28-year-old actress and her brother Showik, lawyer Satish Maneshinde, argued that the drug-related case should also have been entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Supreme Court’s order of 19 August that allowed the Central agency to take over the case.
Arguing Rhea and Showik’s bail requests, Maneshinde noted that on August 19 the supreme court had ordered that all cases related to the late actor’s death be transferred to the CBI for investigation, and given that the drug trail that the NCB is investigating was also linked to the death of Rajput, this case should also have been transferred to said agency.
Maneshinde argued that the crimes attributed by the NCB to Rhea and her brother were liable to bail, since, without a doubt, they are related to small amounts and strict provisions of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) of 1985, such as the section 27A (financing of illicit drug trafficking). or offending ports), were not applicable to the case.
Additional Attorney General Anil Singh, who represented the NCB, said they will respond to all arguments presented on behalf of the brothers. However, he did seek time to file an affidavit in response to Rhea and Showik’s bail requests.
Consequently, Judge Sarang Kotwal released bail requests for an additional hearing on September 29, when the court released requests from three other defendants arrested by the NCB in the same case.
In her request, Rhea has claimed that a witch hunt was launched against her by hiring three central agencies to investigate the cases, but two of those agencies have to date found no evidence against her or her family.
“The plaintiff affirms that the defendants (read the Center) have initiated a witch hunt against her for the investigations at the request of three central organizations,” affirmed the plaintiff’s bail allegation.
“The CBI and the ED have so far found no evidence against the applicant and her relatives. The accusations have not advanced, “she also said, adding that the Office of Narcotics Control, which is supposed to prevent international illicit drug trafficking, has been” specifically brought to implicate her and her family in some way.
The NCB began an investigation into the alleged angle of drugs in the untimely death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14, after WhatsApp chats revealed that marijuana was regularly obtained. for the consumption of the deceased actor.
A long list of drug dealers and suppliers led to Rhea’s arrest by the drug agency on September 8. Her brother Showik is also arrested in the case. They both moved to superior court after a special NDPS court rejected their bail statements on September 11.
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