After the Special NDPS court, on Monday, the Bombay High Court also denied bail to Hindi actor Armaan Kohli, who was arrested as part of the drug probe that was initiated after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020.
Kohli was booked on August 28, 2021 under sections 21(a), 27(a), 28, 29, 30, & 35 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act (NDPS Act) by the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) after they seized cocaine from his Mumbai residence.
The actor was later sent to judicial custody on September 2 as no further remand was sought by the drug law enforcement agency. Two days later, on September 4, a magistrate court denied him bail.
On October 16, the Special NDPS court had also denied bail to the actor after the NCB opposed his application, claiming that Kohli had direct links to two of the prime accused in the case, from whom a large “commercial” quantity of contraband was recovered.
And now, the Bombay High Court has denied him bail as well.
However, while rejecting Kohli’s plea, the High Court granted bail to his co-accused Kareem Dhanani and Imran Ansari after NCB officials admitted that no bank statements were found implicating the duo.
The NCB has so far arrested six persons in this case, including Kohli. Along with the actor, drug peddler Ajay Raju Singh was also arrested for illegal possession of drugs. Later, the agency detained four more persons, including two Nigerian nationals who were accused of peddling.
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Several celebrities have been issued a notice or summoned by the NCB in relation to the same drugs case till date, including Deepika Padukone, Karan Johar, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Bharti Singh, and Arjun Rampal’s sister Komal Rampal. In August, Padukone’s former manager Karishma Prakash was also questioned by the NCB in connection to the same case.
Rajput’s death by suicide on June 14, 2020 in Mumbai sparked several controversies regarding mental health issues and nepotism in the Hindi film industry. It also resulted in a massive drug probe, which is currently being investigated by the NCB and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Rajput’s girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty were arrested in September 2020 for their alleged involvement in drug procurement, but are now out on bail.