Sessions court to hear bail plea of Rhea Chakraborty and brother today

Police officers take actress Rhea Chakraborty to Byculla jail from the NCB office at Ballard Estate on Wednesday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The Sessions Court will today hear the bail application of actor Rhea Chakraborty, whose lawyer, in the petition, has said that she was falsely implicated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and that the agency does not have any solid evidence against her.

Advocate Satish Manashinde on Wednesday filed the bail petitions for both Rhea and her brother Showik Chakraborty. "Rhea has been falsely implicated in the matter, and no drugs or psychotropic substances have been seized from her. Also the claims, if any, would pertain strictly to smaller quantities. Thus, the NCB does not have strong evidence of the alleged offence," Maneshinde stated in the petition.

'No concrete proof'

He states that Rhea has been charged under Section 27A (punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders) of the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act without any concrete evidence. "There is nothing on record to state that Rhea was in any way connected to the financing of illegal traffic or was harbouring criminals in relation to any drugs," he stated. Even on the allegation that Rhea managed the finances for the purchase of drugs for Rajput, the NCB has no evidence, said Maneshinde, adding that the agency has not yet established a relationship between the actress and the alleged drug peddlers. "NCB is merely stating that she is an active member of a drug syndicate. There's no concrete evidence." Maneshinde also mentioned that male officers of the NCB interrogated Rhea and not a single female officer was present.

Rhea's brother Showik Chakraborty. Pic/Ashish Raje

NCB will oppose plea

On Manshinde's allegations, Mutha Ashok Jain, deputy director general, South-Western Region, NCB, told mid-day, "NCB will oppose Rhea's bail and we will speak in court."

The NCB, investigating the drugs angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, arrested Rhea on Tuesday and charged her for procuring drugs for the deceased actor. The agency via video conferencing produced her before the magistrate court, which rejected her bail plea and sent her to 14-day judicial custody.

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