Mumbai: A special NDPS court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of celebrity manager Karishma Prakash in a drugs case case being investigated in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. A former manager of Deepika Padukone, Prakash had sought the bail about nine months ago, on October 31.

After the order was pronounced, following a plea submitted by the defence, the court granted a stay on the order until August 25. The defence submitted that interim protection was granted to Prakash by the court during the pendency of the application and that needs to be continued to enable her to approach the Bombay high court against the order. The defence sought for continuation of the interim protection for four weeks.

Special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande opposed the application for continuation of the interim protection on the grounds that Prakash was not entitled to any leniency in view of her conduct during the pendency of the anticipatory bail plea. He also submitted that it would not be permissible for the court to continue the interim protection after the anticipatory bail plea was rejected.

“…[T]he applicant (Prakash) is seeking continuation of the interim protection for approaching the hon’ble high court and it would be within the discretion of this court to continue the protection for a reasonable period. In view of above, interim protection granted to the applicant shall continue till August 25, 2021,” the court said.

Special judge V V Vidwans said that in the meantime Prakash is directed to attend the office of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) once a week for the purpose of investigations.

The special NDPS court specified that Prakash would have to provide her mobile phone number and address to the NCB if there is any change.

The NCB had booked Prakash after it allegedly found1.7g of hashish at her Versova home. NCB officials allegedly also seized three vials of CBD oil or cannabidiol, which has traces of cannabis. Prakash denied that she had consumed drugs. Sarpande had opposed the plea. The NCB alleged that during the examination of the suspected peddler’s cellphone, some links were found with Prakash.

The NCB has been investigating a series of cases involving celebrities and drug peddlers. This probe was triggered by an investigation into a drug angle pertaining to Rajput’s alleged suicide on June 14, 2020.

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Mumbai: Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant on Thursday asked the CBI, which had taken over investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput exactly a year ago, to give a clear picture on the status of case. He said the BJP should tender an unconditional apology to the people of Maharashtra for the CBI’s failure to arrive at a conclusion in the case.

“A year has passed since the CBI took over the probe into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and it is yet to reach any conclusion. It has been more than 300 days since the AIIMS panel denied the murder angle. The CBI has maintained a discreet silence in the case. The nation wants to know who is pressurising the CBI, what is the progress in the case. We are keen to know the present status of the probe,” Sawant said in a statement. He said the Supreme Court had expressed satisfaction over the probe by the Mumbai Police. “Prima facie, it appears it was the BJP’s ploy to destabilise the MVA government,” he said.