Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former domestic helps Neeraj and Keshav were summoned for questioning on May 30 by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection to the drug probe linked to the actor’s death, ANI reported.
This came a day after Rajput’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani was remanded to five days of judicial custody to the NCB by a court in Mumbai on May 28.
Pithani was booked under multiple sections of the NDPS Act, 1985 and arrested by the NCB’s Mumbai unit on May 26 from his residence in Hyderabad. His statement was recorded and he was taken to Mumbai on May 28 on a transit warrant.
The NCB said that although a notice was sent to Pithani under Section 67 of the NDPS Act, he did not join the investigation. Therefore, as a “follow-up action”, the NCB team arrested him, ANI reported.
Pithani, who was named ‘Buddha’ by Rajput, had been his flatmate for a year before the actor’s death and was also one of the people who were present in the flat when he died by suicide. He had given several controversial media bytes after the actor’s death related to the Hindi film industry and had been interrogated for long hours in September 2020 regarding the same.
Calling Pithani’s arrest a “poetic justice”, Rajput’s family lawyer Vikas Singh told The Times of India that Pithani was very “crucial” to the case and should have been arrested long back. He said Pithani was present when Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput’s girlfriend, left the flat and was also present when Rajput was found dead. Singh said Pithani had called a locksmith, opened the door and lowered the actor’s body.
Rajput died by suicide on June 14, 2020 in Mumbai, which sparked several controversies regarding mental health issues and nepotism in the Hindi film industry. It also resulted in a massive drug probe being investigated by the NCB and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Subsequently, his family filed cases against Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty for mishandling Rajput’s money and procuring drugs for Rajput. During the investigation, the NCB had said that the siblings facilitated drug deliveries and paid for drugs.
The Chakraborty siblings are currently out on conditional bail.
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This year in March, the NCB’s Mumbai Zonal Unit submitted an 11,700-page charge sheet naming the Chakraborty siblings along with Agisilaos Demetriades (brother of Arjun Rampal‘s partner Gabriella Demetriades) and Kshitij Prasad (former Dharma Productions employee), along with 29 others. Among the 33 accused, eight continue to be in custody.
With over 200 witnesses, the charge sheet has focused mainly on the confiscation of narcotics and psychotropic substances that falls under the provisions of Section 20(b), 22, 23 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act from the accused. The charge sheet also includes statements on voluntary disclosure and technical evidence including connectivity through phone calls, WhatsApp chats and bank accounts details or financial transactions.