The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which is looking into the allegations of drug use by the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his actor-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, produced Rhea’s brother Showik, Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda and Kaizan Ebrahim before a magistrate court on Saturday.
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NCB was granted Showik and Miranda’s custody till September 9, while Kaizan was send to judicial custody till September 19. Showik and Miranda were arrested under sections 8 (c), 20 (b) (ii), 27A, 28 and 29 of the NDPS Act. In its remand application, NCB has not mentioned drug seizure or any other material evidence, in the searches conducted, either from Showik or Miranda.
In its remand application, NCB said that Showik had to be confronted “with other accused who are in its custody to uncover the linkages of network which indulged in selling and purchasing drugs”. The agency also claimed that it needed Showik’s custody to confront him with his sister Rhea and Rajput’s manager Dipesh Sawant.
The agency also claimed that it had to verify the financial trail of all transactions. According to NCB, there are other ‘characters’ who are absconding and were, as per call data record analysis, part of the drug syndicate.
{{/usCountry}}The agency also claimed that it had to verify the financial trail of all transactions. According to NCB, there are other ‘characters’ who are absconding and were, as per call data record analysis, part of the drug syndicate.
{{/usCountry}}Showik and Miranda were arrested after NCB arrested two Bandra residents, Abdel Basit Parihar, 23, and Kaizan Ebrahim, on Friday on charges of peddling drugs.
The other three arrested for drug peddling are Zaid Vilatra, 20 (arrested on Thursday), Abbas Lakhani, and Karan Arora (arrested on August 27-28). Lakhani and Arora were arrested based on a specific input in another case and curated marijuana was seized from their possession. Their questioning led NCB to Vilatra, who told officials that he ran an eatery in Bandra (West), but was suffering losses owing to the lockdown and so started to peddle drugs. Vilatra claimed he was in touch with Ebrahim and Parihar.
Parihar reportedly told NCB that he used to procure drugs from Vilatra and Ebrahim on the instructions of Chakraborty’s brother Showik who asked him to give it to Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda. Showik’s chats on a messaging application showed that on March 17, he shared Vilatra’s contact number with Miranda and asked to pay him ₹10,000 for 5gm. Miranda and Vilatra were tracked to the same location on March 17, said NCB officials.
A senior IPS officer from NCB said, “We conducted searches at Miranda’s and Showik’s homes and collected some evidence. The investigation is at a preliminary stage and details of the evidence gathered can’t be revealed at the moment.”
NCB officials said they have recovered Indian currency worth ₹955,750 and foreign currency – US$ 2081, 180 British Pound, 15 Dirham – from Vilatra.