NCB charge sheet based on inadmissible evidence: Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer

A day after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) filed its charge sheet in the drug case that the agency probed in connection with untimely death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer advocate Satish Maneshinde on Saturday said that it appears to be based on inadmissible evidence.

A day after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) filed its charge sheet in the drug case that the agency probed in connection with untimely death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer advocate Satish Maneshinde on Saturday said that it appears to be based on inadmissible evidence. NCB has named Chakraborty and 32 others in the charge sheet.

NCB has named actor Rhea Chakraborty along with 32 others in the charge sheet in the drug case in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. (HT FILE)

“Entire NCB from top to bottom was deployed in unearthing the purported drug abuse in Bollywood, but there is hardly any material against any known faces who were paraded during the investigation,” Maneshinde said, commenting on the 11,700-page charge sheet.

NCB has, in the charge sheet, said that Rhea procured and financed narcotic substances for Rajput with the help of her brother Showik. In this regard Maneshinde said, “The court has found no prima facie material, at the stage of bail, of alleged financing drugs etc.”

“The charge sheet is a damp squib standing on the foundation of inadmissible evidence and statements recorded under section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act even after the Supreme Court judgement in Toofan Singh’s case,” he said, adding, “We will have the last laugh.”

NCB, in the charge sheet, has heavily relied on the statements given by 33 accused before the officer. The statements would be corroborated with other evidence such as chats, audio messages exchanged, and relevant bank account entries.

The central agency has also claimed that Chakraborty has taken delivery of drugs at her residence, and thus drugs were stored at her house. She has allegedly provided fund for purchase of drugs; thus she has financed an activity related to illicit drug dealings, NCB has claimed. In view of this, NCB said that Chakraborty has facilitated a channel of supply of drugs with Showik’s help.