29 September,2020 07:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rhea and her brother Showik Chakraborty
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday reserved its orders on the bail applications filed by actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's employees Samuel Miranda and Dipesh Sawant and drug peddler Abdul Basit Parihar.
Rhea and her brother Showik have been in jail for nearly three weeks on drugs-related charges linked to the Sushant death case investigation.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has asserted that it has 'jurisdiction' to probe the Sushant's death-related cases.
Assistant Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, representing NCB, opposed the bail pleas of Rhea Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty and others.
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"All throughout arguments, the applicants' state that this is connected to Sushant Singh Rajput death case but this investigation has nothing to do with it. I want to point out that this is a drug syndicate and that they are all interlinked. All persons arrested till now are connected with each other and it is a syndicate," said Singh.
He added, "This is not a case related to Sushant Singh Rajput. He may have been one of the consumers but the entire transaction and deal is not restricted to him."
Opposing their bail pleas, the NCB said that as per the directions of the Supreme Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would take over the Sushant probe, if any new cases are registered on the late actor's death and the surrounding circumstances of his unnatural death, but it (the directions) did not pertain to the present (drugs) cases registered under the NDPS Act, 1985.
The NCB reiterated its earlier stance that Rhea was "an active member of the drug syndicate connected with high society personalities and drug suppliers", besides her involvement in procuring and financing the drugs, which was revealed in her statement recorded by the NCB.
"The present applicant (Rhea) is prominent member of supply chain of drugs and majorly she is handling finance also and used to manage, finance for drug procurement along with Sushant Singh Rajput," the NCB said in its affidavit opposing Rhea's bail application.
Rhea and Showik are among 20 who have been arrested by the NCB in the past few weeks in the probe surrounding the drugs angle linked with Sushant's death case. Both siblings are currently in judicial custody till October 6.
In her bail plea filed through lawyer Satish Maneshinde, Rhea has argued that that the NCB had no jurisdiction to probe this case since the matter was transferred to the CBI as per the SC verdict.
Entering the probe after a request by Enforcement Directorate (ED), the NCB had arrested Rhea, 28, on September 9 on charges of procuring and financing the drugs for Sushant on his instructions, and the probe trail has led to a total of 20 arrests so far.
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