Deepika Padukone was questioned for six hours by the NCB on Saturday.
New Delhi:
The mobile phones of actors Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preet Singh have been seized by the Office of Narcotics Control in its ever-widening investigation into allegations of widespread drug abuse in Bollywood triggered by the death of Sushant Singh. Rajput.
Ms. Padukone was questioned for six hours on Saturday by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai. She was summoned, along with actors Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan.
The NCB also seized the phones of talent manager Jaya Saha and fashion designer Simone Khambatta and sent them for forensic examination.
Ms. Padukone was questioned at Evelyn Guest House in Colaba, Mumbai, where the Special Investigation Team of the Office of Narcotics Control has established a base. Ms. Kapoor and Ms. Khan were also questioned separately at the NCB’s Ballard Estate office.
The investigation into Bollywood drug ties began with the questioning of actor Rhea Chakraborty, three months after Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai home on June 14. The investigation, which involves multiple agencies, has wowed the nation, spewing almost daily turns and wild speculation. and social media campaigns.
Sources in the Office of Narcotics Control, whose mandate is to go after the largest drug cartels and not individual consumers, have said the agency was summoning Bollywood A members to understand the supply network through alleged consumers.
The actors have not been named as defendants in any drug investigation case and are only being questioned, sources from the agency said.
During her interrogation prior to arrest on 9 September, Rhea Chakraborty reportedly named stars, including Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preet Singh, in connection with drug use. Her attorney has denied this claim.
Sara Ali Khan was also the co-star of Sushant Singh Rajput in the movie “Kedarnath”; Sushant Rajput developed the drug habit while filming the film, according to Rhea Chakraborty’s bail petition in Bombay High Court.
The names of Deepika Padukone and Shraddha Kapoor were found in the WhatsApp chats on the phone of Jaya Saha, a talent manager at Sushant Singh Rajput and a senior executive at the Kwan talent firm.
Jaya Saha has also been questioned by the drug investigation agency.
Sushant Singh’s family, through their advocate Vikas Singh, had expressed their displeasure at the direction of the investigation saying that “the NCB investigation is also going in the same direction as the Mumbai police investigation … calling large names for questioning just to get attention. “
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