A former executive at Dharmatic Entertainment, a branch of Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, told a court that officers from the Office of Narcotics Control forced him to falsely implicate actors Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Dino Morea during questioning. The executive, Kshitij Prasad, was arrested in connection with the NCB’s ongoing investigation into Bollywood’s alleged drug links.
So far, actors Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preet Singh have been questioned by the OCN, with more names expected to be summoned soon.
“I have been repeatedly harassed and coerced into falsely implicating Dino Morea, Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor in the present proceedings, even though I have repeatedly stated that I do not know such persons and have no knowledge of such allegations,” Prasad said in an application. according to the Indian Express. He said he was retracting his statements, including the self-incriminating ones.
Kshitij, in a statement submitted through his attorney Satish Maneshinde, said: “I say that the whistleblower (NCB) is harassing me and mentally, emotionally and psychologically abusing me to make false statements.” The NCB described him as “totally uncooperative, inflexible and arrogant.”
Kshitij had previously alleged that the NCB forced him to implicate Karan Johar. Maneshinde was quoted in an Indian Express 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 that they used 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. “
Also Read: Producer Kshitij Prasad Alleges NCB Forced Him To Involve Karan Johar In Drug Investigation, Agency Denies Charges – Report
Karan in a statement on social media distanced himself from Kshitij and said that he does not use drugs. He said: “I would like to further state that various media / news channels have been broadcasting news reports that Kshitij Prasad and Anubhav Chopra are my ‘helpers’ / ‘close helpers’. I would like to put on the record that I do not know these people personally and that neither of these two people is a “helper” or a “close helper.” Neither I nor Dharma Productions can be responsible for what people do in their personal lives. These accusations do not belong to Dharma Productions. I would also like to point out that Mr. Anubhav Chopra is not an employee of Dharma Productions. He was briefly associated with us for just two months as a second assistant director of a film, between November 2011 and January 2012 and as an assistant director of the short film in January 2013. Since then, he has never been associated with Dharma Productions for no reason. another project “.
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