Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday issued a notice to filmmaker Karan Johar after taking cognisance of a widely circulated video of a party attended by Bollywood celebrities at his residence in July last year where it was alleged that drugs were consumed.

The NCB has requisitioned Johar for the original source of the video to ensure its authenticity before progressing further on the inquiries, said a source. Based on the information gathered and its genuineness, action will be decided, the source added.

Johar has been asked to submit the same by Friday. “We have not asked him to appear before us,” an NCB official said.

In September, Johar had issued a public statement saying that reports of drug consumption at his party were “slanderous” and “malicious”. The NCB has been probing the prevalence of contraband in the celebrity circuit since actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide on June 14.

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The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has sent a notice to film producer Karan Johar in response to a complaint filed by Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa in September this year. Sirsa has urged the NCB to take cognisance of a widely circulated video of a party at Johar’s house in July 2019. Sirsa made the complaint after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in June this year.

In his complaint, Sirsa has alleged that the video shows many Bollywood actors in a drugged state. Several top actors were reportedly at the party, including Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor, Malaika Arora, among others.

Confirming the development, Deputy Director (operations) of NCB, K P S Malhotra said the notice has been sent to check the veracity of the video. “NCB had received a complaint from Manjinder Sirsa in this regard. It was marked to the Mumbai Zonal Unit of NCB.” He said Johar has also been asked to explain its content.

Sirsa had met NCB Chief Rakesh Asthana only after the drugs angle surfaced in the case related to Rajput’s death. Sirsa has urged Asthana to thoroughly investigate the angle of Johar’s party, too.

In a press note after the complaint, Johar had called the statement “slanderous” and “malicious”. He had said, “I had already clarified my position way back in 2019 that the allegations are completely baseless and false. No narcotics substance was consumed at the party. I would like to unequivocally once again state that I do not consume narcotics and I do not promote or encourage consumption of any such substance.”

In the last few months, the NCB has questioned several film personalities in connection with Rajput’s death and some separate drug cases. The agency has also made 28 arrests in these cases. These include Rajput’s girlfriend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and Kshitij Prasad, a former employee of Karan Johar. These three have been granted bail in the past few weeks.

Johar had said that Prasad joined Dharmatic Entertainment, a company linked to Dharma Productions, as an on-contract executive producer in November 2019 but the project didn’t materialize.