Bollywood Drug Probe: NCB Submits Draft Charge, Says Accused Aided Abetted Sushant Singh Rajput Into "Extreme Drug Addiction"

The Narcotics Control Bureau has claimed that actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and others aided and abetted late Sushant Singh Rajput into extreme drug addiction.

In the draft charges filed before the Special NDPS court, the NCB accused Chakraborty and 34 others of engaging in criminal conspiracy to procure, purchase, sale, transport, and distribute various drugs in Bollywood. NCB has investigated the drug case related to Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

The NCB alleged that Rajput's roommate Siddharth Pithani was in direct contact with Samuel Miranda, Showik Chakraborty, Dipesh Sawant, and Rhea Chakraborty in order to procure drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput, and used Rajput's bank account to pay for these drugs.

The accused have been charged with offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii), 22, 27A, 28, 29 and 30 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

These provisions respectively deal with - prohibition of certain operations related to drugs, punishment for contravention in relation to cannabis plant and cannabis, punishment for contravention in relation to psychotropic substances, punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders, punishment for attempts to commit offences, punishment for abetment and criminal conspiracy, preparation to commit any offence under the Act. The draft charge contains allegations against each of the accused.

"Accused no. 1 to 35 entered in to criminal conspiracy during the period of March 2020 to December 2020 with each other or in groups to procure, purchase, sale, transport intercity, distribute in the high society and Bollywood, finance the drug trafficking and or consumption of Ganja, Charas, LSD, Cocaine and other narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances without valid licence, permit or authorization within the Mumbai Metropolitan region and thereby committed an offence u/s 29 R/W 8[C],20[b][ii]A,B, 27, 27A, &28 of NDPS ACT 1985", the draft states.

The NCB has alleged that Samuel Miranda was in regular contact with the drug peddlers during the period March 2020 to September 2020. The allegation against Showik Chakraborty is that he placed orders for delivery of Ganja and Hashish and received deliveries as well as paid for these drugs. The NCB has accused Rhea Chakraborty of accepting deliveries of drugs and handing them over to Sushant Singh Rajput.

"Siddharth Pithani was in direct contact with Samuel Miranda, Showik, Dipesh Sawant, Rhea Chakraborty, and Late Sushant Singh Rajput for procurement of drugs/Ganja for consumption of Sushant Singh Rajput and others during the period of January 2020 to August 2020. You accused also using Kotak App of Late Sushant Singh Rajput and procuring weed/Ganja and other drugs from his (Sushant's) bank account as "Puja Samagri" and thereby aided and abetted Sushant to extreme drug addiction", the draft charges states.

This case is related to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The draft charge was submitted before V. G. Raghuvanshi, Special Judge under the NDPS Act 1985 in Mumbai City Civil and Sessions court.