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New Delhi: Actor Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik and Sushant Singh Rajput’s house manager, Samuel Miranda They “confessed” that they were preparing drugs for the late Bollywood star and facilitating their delivery, a source from the Bureau of Narcotics Control (NCB) told ThePrint.
According to the NCB source, Rajput’s personal employee Dipesh Sawant, who was arrested on Saturday, also “bought drugs from him.”
While the men said they primarily bought buds, a cured form of marijuana, for the Rajput, NCB suspects they may have facilitated the delivery of other drugs as well, the source said.
“The defendants have revealed that they were indeed in contact with drug suppliers and arranged and facilitated the delivery of drugs to Sushant and even Rea,” the source said.
The NCB is one of the agencies involved in the investigation of the various aspects that led to the death of Rajput. India’s main drug law enforcement agency filed a case last month after the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), while investigating an alleged money laundering angle, claimed to have found several WhatsApp chats of Rhea and Showik related to the consumption, acquisition and transport of drugs.
Showik and Miranda were arrested Friday night and are currently in custody for questioning. Before being arrested by the NCB, Sawant was interrogated several times by the CBI in connection with the Rajput investigation.
Miranda and Showik have been charged with illegal possession, transportation and consumption of contraband. Until now, the BCN eight people were arrested in the case and three are in pretrial detention.
In announcing Sawant’s arrest on Saturday, NCB deputy director KPS Malhotra said he had been booked under “the provisions of the National Law on Drugs and Psychotropic Substances … on the basis of corroborating evidence.”
“NCB has not issued subpoenas to anyone else today. More investigations are being carried out in this case, ”he added.
Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai home on June 14. His death was initially believed to be suicide, but the investigation has since branched out to look at his family’s claims that Rhea and her family cheated on him with their money, among other accusations.
Currently three agencies participate in research, the ED, the CBI and the NCB.
Rhea, who was Sushant’s girlfriend, has claimed in television interviews that she is innocent of any role in her death.
Read also: Regulator PCI criticizes ‘media judgment’ in Sushant Singh Rajput case, says not to publish gossip
‘Showik has given many names’
The aforementioned NCB source said that during his questioning, Showik gave “many names (of people) that he was dealing drugs with and now he has to deal with all (the people).”
“Through the questioning of the custodians, we will discover the various links of the networks that participated in the sale and purchase of narcotics,” said the source.
“Showik must face Dipesh Sawant and Rhea, there are specific roles of criminal conspiracy, complicity and various attempts to commit crimes,” added the source.
The source said the financial trail of all his drug purchases will also be verified.
The Rajput investigation supposedly has carried the NCB to discover a “widely prevalent” drug culture in Bollywood.
The source quoted above said that the ongoing investigation is “an attempt to uproot the drug citadel in Mumbai, especially Bollywood,” adding that they have “relevant evidence” and “a strong case.”
The source said the questioning of Showik, Miranda and Sawant has helped them find “many links” that hint at the involvement of some “very influential” names.
“This investigation is focused on ending this ongoing drug nexus within Bollywood and we are targeting major distributors, intermediaries, suppliers and even transporters. Buyers who are engaging these men are also on our radar and we will soon be summoning more people to join the investigation, ”the source said.
“We have some big names with us, including those of distributors, suppliers and customers, some of whom have turned off their phones and got off the radar. Some are on the run. We will carry out more raids in the coming days, ”said the source.
A second source added that it is not only marijuana, but also other psychotropic substances that “are acquired and delivered by direct order to personalities in the film industry.” The deals, the source added, were almost “going on openly.”
Probing ‘the nexus’
The eight people arrested in the case so far are Showik, Miranda, Sawant, Zaid and Kaizan (two suspected drug traffickers), and three others identified as Abbas Ramzan Ali, Karan Arora and Abdel Basit Parihar.
The alleged nexus of these drug traffickers and their alleged association with Showik came to light after the arrest of Abbas Ramzan Ali on August 28. Apparently he was arrested with 46 grams of marijuana on his person.
Abbas allegedly told the NCB that he purchased the drug from Arora, who was later detained. According to the duo’s alleged claims, Zaid Vilatra was searched and found to be in possession of Rs 9,55,750 in Indian currency, $ 2,081 (US dollars), £ 180 (British pounds) and 15 dirhams (UAE).
Zaid allegedly told the NCB that the money constituted “proceeds from sales of contraband (marijuana and psychotropic substances)” that he had provided to many people, and also revealed some names.
Among those believed to have been identified by him is Parihar, a suspected drug recipient. Parihar is alleged to have told the NCB that he used to purchase drugs from Zaid and one Kaizan Ebrahim on Showik’s instructions.
One of the NCB sources cited above said there are other cases “where Basit facilitated the drugs and was in contact with Samuel Miranda and Showik.”
“Basit is an active member of the drug union connected to high profile personalities and drug suppliers. I used to pay and receive money through credit cards, cash and payment gateways, ”added the source.
Read also: Against the 1000 questions that the television news had after Sushant Singh’s death, we only have six
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