Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has launched a hunt for Sushant Singh Rajput’s friend, assistant director Rishikesh Pawar, in connection with a drugs case linked to the late actor’s death.

Pawar, who allegedly handled delivery of drugs to Rajput in his last days, had moved court seeking anticipatory bail fearing arrest.

On Thursday, special NDPS court Judge V Vidwans rejected his application. NCB sleuths thereafter searched his house but he could not be traced. “Yes, we are looking for Rishikesh Pawar,” said Sameer Wankhede, zonal director of NCB.

Pawar reportedly worked with Rajput for a while but was fired last year for reasons that are not known.

“We wanted to question him about the drugs angle from the very beginning but he was non-cooperative and had refused to come in for questioning despite being issued summons. This further strengthened our suspicion about his role in the case,” said an NCB official. Pawar, a resident of Chembur, worked as an assistant director in Rajput’s dream project. Though he had been fired, Pawar continued to visit Rajput, said NCB officials, adding they want to interrogate him about it.

Last year, 27 people, including actor Preetika Chauhan, producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s wife Shabana Saeed, Australian national Paul Bartel and South African national Agisilaos Demetriades had been arrested in the drugs case.