Travesty Of Justice, Says Her Lawyer
Ahmed Ali (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 9, 2020)

Mumbai: After three days of questioning, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday arrested actor Rhea Chakraborty on charges of allegedly arranging and financing consumption of marijuana by her boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput with the help of her brother Showik, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda and cook Deepesh Sawant.

NCB, in its remand application, described her as part of an “active drug syndicate” connected with drug suppliers. The agency, however, did not ask for her custody and instead requested that she be sent to judicial custody. A magistrate, through video conferencing, remanded Rhea in judicial custody till September 22.

Sources said her lawyer Satish Maneshinde is likely to move sessions court for bail on Wednesday.

The actress has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Pyschotropic Substances Act under section 8 (c) which deals with possession and purchase, 20B (II) for possession, purchase and transporting, 27 for financing illicit traffic, 28 for attempt to commit offences, and 29 for abetment and criminal conspiracy.

The offences attract a minimum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and maximum of 20 years and a fine not less than Rs 1 lakh.
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Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), while admitting that cases of possession and procurement such as the one involving Rhea Chakraborty was not part of their “mandate”, said they had managed to piece it together to their satisfaction.

“We are satisfied with her three days of interrogations and we don’t need her custody any more. Normally we look at international and inter-state drug trafficking and usually this is not our mandate… we look for big fish. But now we are getting information and we will not spare anyone whose names are figuring in the investigations. We will bring the case to its logical conclusion,” said deputy DG, NCB Mutha Ashok Jain. NCB’s mandate is to bust drug syndicates and unearth factories that are into manufacturing contraband.

The remand application says, “These deliveries (of marijuana) used to be received by aides of Sushant and every delivery and payment was in conscious knowledge of Rhea Chakraborty and even sometimes payment and choice of drugs was confirmed from Rhea.” Rhea is the 10th person to be arrested in the NCB’s probe into drug use involving Sushant Singh Rajput.

The remand application said Rhea’s brother Showik has revealed that he facilitated delivery of drugs through peddlers Basit Parihar, Kaizan Ibrahim and Zaid Vilatra. Showik is accused of organising weed (marijuana) for Sushant between September 2019 and March 2020. There are chat messages between Rhea, Showik and Samuel involving discussions of procurement of drugs. However, the only recoveries of drugs have so far been from the alleged peddlers.

In her media interviews, Rhea had said that Sushant was a substance abuser and her attempts to wean him off did not yield results. The Enforcement Directorate while probing a money laundering angle had found chat messages pertaining to drugs on Rhea’s mobile, which triggered this investigation. The ED passed on the details to the NCB.

NCB officials said she was placed under arrest at around 3.30 pm. Rhea appeared before the NCB at 9.30 am on Tuesday and carried a bag containing a pair of clothes and a water bottle with her.

Terming her arrest a “travesty of justice”, her lawyer Satish Maneshinde said, “Three central agencies hounding a single woman just because she was in love with a drug addict who was suffering from mental health issues for several years and was under the care of five leading psychiatrists in Mumbai, who ended up committing suicide due to consumption of illegally administered medicines and used drugs...” After her arrest, NCB officials took her to Sion hospital for a medical test.

On Wednesday, the seven other accused in the case will be produced before the court as their custody period ends.
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Agency says her statement shows she is an active member of a drug syndicate
Somendranath Sharma and Vallabh Ozarkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 9, 2020)

Actor Rhea Chakraborty, who was arrested on Tuesday in the drugs case linked to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, attempted to seize the narrative three days after she was mobbed by mediapersons outside the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Ballard Pier.

She arrived at the NCB’s office around 10.30 am for a third day of questioning and was arrested around 4 pm. But it was her demeanour that sparked both praise and outrage. The message on her black tee quickly became one of the most searched words (see box: Subtle messaging) and she also waved at the cameras before getting into a police van to be taken for a medical examination at Sion Hospital. Officials said she tested negative for Covid-19. She spent the night at the NCB headquarters and will be taken to the Byculla jail on Wednesday morning.

Mutha Ashok Jain, deputy director general of NCB, said the agency had enough evidence against Chakraborty to make the arrest. “There was no need to seek her custody. It was a conscious decision to not seek her custodial remand… We are satisfied with the three-day questioning we had with her. This is because we cross-examined and questioned those who are already under arrest.”

Chakraborty faces charges under four sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act that could lead to jail for up to 10 years.

Clarifying that no drug was found on Chakraborty, Jain said no summons has been sent to anyone related to the case.

The NCB custody of Chakraborty’s brother Showik, Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda, his staff member Deepesh Sawant, and alleged drug peddlers Zaid Vilatra and Abdel Basit Parihar ends on Wednesday. “We will oppose all bail pleas,” said Jain.

The NCB said Showik had disclosed that he used to facilitate the delivery of drugs through Parihar by Zaid Vilatra and one other peddler. “These deliveries used to be received by Rajput’s aides and every delivery and payment was done with the conscious knowledge of Rhea. Sometimes, the payments and the choice of drugs were confirmed by her. Samuel Miranda, too, in his statement revealed that he used to procure drugs on Rajput and Rhea’s directions, and all payments were handled by the two,” said an official. He said Chakraborty had revealed her role in the procurement of and payment for drugs. “It is clear from her statement that she is an active member of a drug syndicate, and that she procured drug for Rajput’s consumption.”

Chakraborty’s arrest prompted her father Indrajit to point out that she hasn’t been booked for murder or abetment to suicide, as she has been accused of. “Murder? No evidence. Abetment to murder? She wasn’t there. Stealing Rs 15 crore? Sushant never got the money. What remains is drugs. None found on her. She’s ready for a test. Who was it for? Obvious, na?” he said.