The former employee of Dharmatic Entertainment (the digital arm of Dharma Productions), Kshitij Prasad, has alleged that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) forced him to falsely implicate Karan Johar and other executives of the production company in the case of alleged consumption of drugs. The agency has denied the charge, claiming that the investigation was conducted in a professional manner.
Kshitij was arrested on Saturday. He had been called in for questioning in connection with the investigation into the alleged Bollywood drug nexus on Friday. On Saturday, the agency also questioned three lead actors, Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor. On Friday, NCB had questioned Rakul Preet Singh and Deepika’s manager, Karishma Prakash.
According to a report by Indian Express, the former Dharmatic Entertainment employee told a Mumbai court on Sunday that the agency had forced him to falsely implicate Karan and his associates. NCB Deputy Director General Mutha Ashok Jain refuted the allegations and said the investigation was proceeding in a “professional” manner.
Satish Maneshinde, who represents Kshitij, told the publication that his client had been “harassed and blackmailed” by NCB to make the statement. Kshitij had appeared before the metropolitan magistrate via videoconference. Maneshinde added that Kshitij had told the court that his statement had been recorded by Sameer Wankhede, in charge of the Bombay unit of the NCB.
Maneshinde was quoted in the report as saying: “NCB officers, apart from Sameer Wankhede, were courteous to Kshitij and provided him with a comfortable sleeping arrangement. The next morning, when the recording of his statement resumed, Sameer Wankhede categorically informed Kshitij in the presence of several other officers, that since he was associated with Dharma Productions, they would release him if he implicated Karan Johar and some others, claiming falsely using drugs. Kshitij refused to comply despite pressure on him, as he did not know any of these people personally and did not wish to falsely implicate anyone. “
NCB Deputy Director General Jain said: “The investigation is being conducted in a professional manner and there is no intended purpose other than what is revealed during the investigation. (Prasad’s) accusations are absolutely false. “
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In a statement last week, Karan had distanced herself from Kshitij, explaining that she did not know him personally. He had added that Kshitij had only been briefly employed by Karan’s Dharmatic Entertainment, a sister company of Dharma Productions, in 2019.
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