Updated: September 3, 2020 2:25:04 am
Rhea Chakraborty with her brother Showik arriving for the CBI questioning. (proceedings)
The NCB, which is investigating Rhea Chakraborty among others under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), arrested two more Mumbai-based individuals on Wednesday.
The NCB claimed that the two men, Basit Parihar and Zaid Vilatra, had ties to Rhea’s brother, Showik, and Sushant Singh Rajput’s house manager, Samuel Miranda. Showik and Miranda are likely to be questioned by the NCB once the CBI finishes questioning them, an official said. Rhea’s attorney, Satish Maneshinde, said he did not want to comment on the NCB’s claims. Rhea previously said that she had never used drugs.
The NCB claimed that Parihar was in contact with Showik and Miranda. The agency arrested two other men, Abbas Lakhani and Karn Arora, on the intervening night of August 27-28, and removed their ‘cocoon’. A “detailed analysis of the network” led the agency to Lakhani’s ties to Vilatra, an official said.
A search of the Vilatra facility turned up 9,55,750 rupees and foreign currency (2,081 US dollars, 180 British pounds, 15 dirhams), an NCB official said. During questioning, Vilatra said he had a restaurant that was not making money due to the closure, the official said.
Vilatra’s questioning led to Parihar, the second arrest on Wednesday. “During his questioning, his links to the Rhea case were found and he is under investigation,” an official said.
In addition to the NCB, CBI and ED are also investigating Rhea on various charges.
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