Rebecca Samervel (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 12, 2020)

Mumbai: A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court on Friday rejected the bail pleas of actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik in the drug case being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

The court also rejected the bail pleas of Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda and cook Deepesh Sawant and alleged drug peddlers, Basit Parihar and Zaid Vilatra.

G B Gurao, special NDPS Act judge, observed that bail could not be granted at this stage. Detailed order copies are yet to be made available.

Rhea was arrested on Tuesday and Showik last week.

Satish Maneshinde, lawyer for the siblings, said: “Once we get a copy of the court order, we will decide next week on approaching Bombay high court.”

Meanwhile, special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande moved a plea seeking cancellation of the bail earlier granted to alleged drug peddler, Kaizan Ibrahim. He was arrested on September 4, and granted bail the following day by a magistrate’s court. Sarpande said that Ibrahim was in contact with several accused and hence, he should be in custody. The plea will come up for hearing on September 15.

On Wednesday, Rhea had moved the special NDPS court after a magistrate’s court rejected her plea for bail. She sought parity with co-accused Ibrahim and alleged peddlers Abbas Lakhani and Karna Arora, from whom 59gm of ganja was allegedly recovered. The trio is out on bail.

Maneshinde had pointed out that no drugs were found from either Rhea or Showik. Rhea had also retracted her statement made to the NCB saying she was ‘coerced’ into making self-incriminating confessions. He submitted that no case was made out against her under the graver charge of Section 27 A (financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders) of the NDPS Act which attracts a minimum 10 years and a maximum 20 years in jail.

“In essence, her alleged role, if any, is the purchase of a small quantity of drugs for her then boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput which would squarely fall within the ambit of a section which is punishable with a maximum imprisonment of up to one year or with fine or both. Hence, the allegations against Rhea make out an offence that is bailable in nature,” Maneshinde had said.

Opposing Rhea’s bail plea, Sarpande submitted that she had conscious knowledge about Rajput’s drug consumption and she made herself part of the offence by procuring drugs and using her credit card and other payment modes to pay for them. “Rhea has been involved in financing the illicit dealing of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. She has revealed sufficient information related to contravention of the NDPS Act and at this early stage, if she is enlarged on bail, there are high chances of tampering of evidence and influencing witnesses,” the prosecution had submitted.

Sarpande claimed that the drugs were received by Miranda and Sawant and handed over to Rajput. He added that sufficient evidence was collected against Rhea and Showik from phones, laptops and voluntary statements of her and the other accused.
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BOMBAY TIMES (September 12, 2020)

A special court in Mumbai on Friday rejected the bail pleas of Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and others in the drug case filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The other accused in the case are Abdul Basit, Zaid Vilatra, Dipesh Sawant and Samuel Miranda.

Rhea and others were arrested by the NCB for allegedly procuring drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput, who died on June 14. The actress is in judicial custody till September 22.

DURING THE STATEMENT, RHEA CHAKRABORTY REVEALED ABOUT HER INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCUREMENT OF DRUG AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS: NCB
While opposing the bail to Showik, NCB said that if released on bail, he may tamper with the evidence and will also try to win the witness by using her (Rhea) position in the society and money power. In its response to Rhea’s bail application, the NCB had said, “During the statement, present accused Rhea Chakraborty revealed about her involvement in the procurement of drug and financial transactions and also her instructions to Samuel Miranda, Deepesh Sawant and applicant Showik Chakraborty in this regard. Therefore, it is clear from the statement that the applicant is an active member of a drug syndicate connected with drug supplies.”

SHE ISN’T A PART OF ANY DRUG SYNDICATE: ADVOCATE SATISH MANESHINDE, RHEA’S LAWYER
In her bail plea, Rhea had claimed that she was falsely implicated in the case and that the NCB officials had coerced her into making self-incriminating statements. Advocate Satish Maneshinde, who is representing Rhea and Showik, told BT, “The next step is to move Bombay High Court, and we are preparing for it. First, it’s a small quantity, and secondly, she isn’t a part of any drug syndicate. The person who was caught and was in connect with another person caught with commercial quantity, the department asked for his bail. They say that she was financing narcotics drugs trade and was involved in drug trafficking, whereas, it has been alleged that she had spent only Rs. 12,000 for a transaction, according to them. So, how can it amount to financing or trafficking? Rs. 12,000 at worst can be taken as purchase of a small quantity. Their own case is that one gram costs Rs. 5,000. Bud is a more refined form of ganja. So how can it be of commercial quantity, illicit trade or harbouring? Charges against her are a ploy to keep her in custody. All accused have retracted their statements. Besides, the NCB itself says that she never consumed drugs. Showik and her drug tests have been done. Both were found with no drugs. There’s nothing to incriminate Rhea and Showik.”

— With inputs from Neha Maheshwri
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NCB seeks cancellation of alleged drug peddler Kaizan Ibrahim’s bail
David Delima (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 12, 2020)

A special NDPS court on Friday rejected the bail applications of actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik in the drugs case against them in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Judge GB Gurao also dismissed the bail pleas of Rajput’s cook Dipesh Sawant, house manager Samuel Miranda, and alleged drug peddlers Zaid Vilatra and Basit Parihar.

The district magistrate had rejected Chakraborty’s bail application on the day of her arrest on September 8 for allegedly arranging and financing the sale of marijuana for her partner Rajput. It had sent her to judicial custody till September 22. She is lodged in the Byculla jail.

Chakraborty moved the NDPS court on Thursday, contending that she had been booked by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for bailable offences as her alleged role was limited to purchasing a small quantity of drugs for Rajput, which is punishable with a maximum one-year jail term and/or a fine.

Her application had said that she had formally retracted self-incriminating confessions she was coerced into making during her questioning, and that the agency had booked her under Section 27A (financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act without any evidence.

Special Public Prosecutor Atul Sarpande had told the court that the anti-drugs agency had recorded statements and retrieved payment records to show that the accused had been “actively involved in the procurement of the drugs”. As they had paid for the drugs delivered to Rajput’s employees, it was clear that they had “actively aided, abetted and financed other accused persons for the drug transactions” as part of a conspiracy, punishable with imprisonment for 20 years, it was argued.

Sarpande had also said the release granted to another accused, Kaizan Ibrahim, on bail was legally correct as he had not been booked under Section 27A of the NDPS Act. Chakraborty had sought bail on the grounds of parity with Ibrahim and two other accused, Abbas Lakhani and Karan Arora.

Sarpande told Mirror on Friday that the NCB has moved an application seeking cancellation of Ibrahim’s bail as there was evidence to indicate that he was part of the alleged conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Chakraborty’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, said he was yet to receive a copy of the NDPS court’s order and will later decide on whether to approach the Bombay High Court next week.