Mumbai: The NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) has alluded to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s alleged “extreme drug addiction” and charged his then girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty with receiving deliveries of ganja from her brother Showik, Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda and cook Dipesh Sawant, and others, and handing them over to Rajput, reports Rebecca Samervel.

In charges filed with the NDPS court, NCB added that between March and September 2020, she made payments for the deliveries at Rajput and Showik’s instance. Among its charges against Rhea, NCB has invoked section 27A of NDPS Act (illicit trafficking and harbouring of offenders), which attracts a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The NCB, in its charges filed Tuesday against actor Rhea Chakraborty, claimed that between March and December 2020, all 35 accused in the Sushant Singh Rajput drug case entered into a criminal conspiracy to finance drug trafficking, including procuring, sale, transport and distribution of drugs in high society and Bollywood, and for consumption of ganja, charas, LSD, cocaine and other drugs.

Rajput, then 34, was found dead in his Mumbai apartment in June 2020. After hearing arguments on these charges, the spcial court will decide which charges, if any, are to be framed against the accused, reports Rebecca Samervel.

Referring to Rajput’s former roommate Siddharth Pithani, the NCB said between January and August 2020, he was in direct contact with Rajput, his girlfriend Rhea, her brother Showik, Miranda and Sawant for procuring ganja. “(A)ccused (Pithani) using Kotak app of late Sushant Singh Rajput procured weed or ganja and other drugs from his bank account as ‘puja samagri’ and thereby aided and abetted Sushant to extreme drug addiction,” said the NCB.

Pithani, arrested in May 2021 from Hyderabad by NCB, was granted bail by the Bombay High Court last week. The NCB added that Showik was also in touch with peddlers and received packets for Rajput.

Granting bail to Rhea in October 2020, the Bombay HC had said on the applicability of Section 27A that allegations she spent money in procuring drugs for Rajput did not mean she had financed illicit traffic. Simply providing money for transactions would not be financing of that activity.