Bollywood drug investigation: Actor Arjun Rampal was summoned by the drug agency for questioning (Archive)
Mumbai:
Actor Arjun Rampal arrived at the Mumbai office of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) around 11 a.m. to be questioned in a drug investigation that began with investigations into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June. Rampal, 47, who was initially called in on Wednesday, will be questioned in connection with the alleged use of drugs in the Hindi film industry, an official told the PTI news agency.
The actor’s home had been searched on Monday, after which the subpoena was issued, and his girlfriend, Gabriella Demetriades, was questioned for nearly six hours every Wednesday and Thursday. His brother, Agisialos Demetriades, has been arrested twice for alleged links to drugs.
The NCB also arrested Paul Bartel, an Australian architect whose name emerged after the questioning of Agisialos Demetriades, a South African citizen who is currently in the agency’s custody. Mr. Bartel, who was arrested in Mumbai, will appear in court today.
Also on Monday, film producer Firoz Nadiadwala was summoned by the NCB. A day earlier, his wife, Shabana Saeed, was arrested after investigators allegedly found 10 grams of marijuana at her home in Mumbai Juhu during a raid.
Nadiadwala’s residence had been searched following the arrest of drug trafficker Wahid Abdul Kadir Shaikh in Andheri a few days earlier. As the agency tracked down Shaikh’s clients, links emerged with Ms Saeed, who allegedly bought 10 grams of the contraband from her, the NCB said.
Saeed got bail on Tuesday.
For the past two months, leading Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Rakulpreet Singh and Shraddha Kapoor have been questioned by the NCB. The agency has said this is part of its attempt to unravel a network for supplying drugs to celebrities.
The angle of drugs in the death of Sushant Rajput was pointed out after text messages about buying banned substances were allegedly found on the phone of his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, who is also an actress.
Ms. Chakraborty, her brother Showik, two of Sushant Singh Rajput’s employees and a few others were arrested for allegedly arranging drugs for the 34-year-old actor. After spending nearly a month in jail, Ms. Chakraborty was released on bail last month.
The accusations have divided the film fraternity, with one section attacking smearing the industry. Many well-known actors and filmmakers have been controlled by the accusations.
“I will be a liar if I say that this problem does not exist in our industry. It exists, like all industries. But all people of all professions are not involved in such problems. This is impossible,” said actor Akshay Kumar. in October.
With input from PTI
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was released from a press release)
.
