NCB grill Rhea in Sushant case

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday grilled actor Rhea Chakraborty from noon to evening in connection with the drugs case pertaining to Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide. The central agency summoned her early in the day adhering to which she appeared at the agency’s office in Ballard Estate, South Mumbai. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who is probing the suicide to ascertain the motive behind the actor’s extreme step, meanwhile grilled the late actor’s sister Neetu at the DRDO guesthouse on Sunday, where the visiting team has set up their base.

The NCB officials grilled Rhea on the lines of the disclosures made by her brother Showik, Rajput’s former house manager Samuel Miranda and arrested drug peddler Abdul Basit Parihar. While the probe has revealed that Parihar supplied drugs and Showik facilitated its procurement, the latter has claimed to have done that at the behest of his sister Rhea, a claim made by househelp Dipesh Sawant too in his statement.

The agency was also provided with the chats and text messages exchanged between Rhea and other suspects in which they discussed the procurement of narcotics, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the alleged money laundering involved in the suicide. The NCB used these premises to summon Rhea to question her on the procurement, consumption and peddling of narcotics.

“Rhea kept denying the charges despite being put up with relevant material supporting it. She may be confronted with other arrested accused as a part of the investigation,” said an officer privy to the investigation.

Sawant was produced before the holiday court on Sunday that remanded him to the NCB custody for further investigation. The officials said that he has also stated that he saw Rajput smoking up while he worked there.

The CBI’s confrontation was on the lines of her and other family members knowing of the dead actor’s psychological condition and allegedly suggesting medication without prescription.