Drugs case: Court denies bail to Rhea, Showik and 4 others

A special court in Mumbai on Friday rejected the bail pleas of Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in connection with a drugs-related
case pertaining to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The court also rejected the bail pleas of four other accused in the case.

Special Judge G B Gurao, presiding over cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, rejected their bail applications.

All the accused are currently in judicial custody.

Special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande, appearing for the Narcotics Control Bureau, welcomed the decision and said the court, while rejecting the bail pleas, has accepted the contentions of the prosecution that the investigation is at a crucial stage.

Rhea's lawyer Satish Maneshinde said they would decide further course of action after perusing the court order.

"Once we get a copy of the order passed by the special NDPS court, we will decide next week on further course of action and about approaching the Bombay high court," he said.

In her bail plea, Rhea had claimed that she was falsely implicated in the case.

Rhea had also retracted the confessional statement recorded by the NCB when she was questioned for three days. She had claimed that the NCB officials had coerced her into making self-incriminating statements.

The NCB had strongly opposed the bail pleas and said that Rhea was conscious of the fact that Rajput was consuming drugs, but despite that she continued procuring and making payments for drugs.

The NCB had said that although the quantity of banned drugs seized in the case was small, it was still a commercial quantity and worth Rs 1,85,200.

"Rhea Chakraborty and Showik Chakraborty financed an arranged drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput and at his instructions," the NCB had said in its affidavit responding to the bail pleas.

It added that as per the statement given by co-accused and Rajput's domestic help Dipesh Sawant, he used to procure drugs from other accused in the case on the instructions of Rajput and Rhea.

"The financial transactions were handled by Rhea and sometimes Rajput. Dipesh Sawant used to procure drugs along with co-accused Samuel Miranda (former house manager of Rajput) for Sushant Singh Rajput's consumption," the affidavit said.

The NCB had further said that if the accused are released on bail, they may tamper with evidence and try to intimidate key witnesses in the case.

The NCB began its investigation after the Enforcement Directorate, which was probing money laundering charges linked to the case, shared the social media chats retrieved from Rhea's mobile phone, hinting at the use of banned drugs.

Rajput was found hanging in his residence in suburban Bandra on June 14.

The Central Bureau of Investigation is separately probing a case against Rhea and others for allegedly abetting the 34-year-old actor's suicide.