India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Wednesday registered a criminal case against Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s ex girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and others for their alleged involvement in banned drugs.
NCB has become the third federal agency after the country's top probe agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and economic probe agency Enforcement Directorate (ED), to join the Sushant Singh Rajput's death case investigation, after a drug angle emerged on Tuesday evening.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is investigating the money laundering angle in the case, has forwarded some evidence to the NCB about the late Bollywood actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty’s alleged links to banned drugs.
Speaking to Sputnik, NCB director Rakesh Asthana on Wednesday said: “We received a letter from ED on Tuesday evening, stating that during their probe into the financial aspects, they found that a drug was supplied to Sushant’s ex girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and Sushant. An NCB team will now conduct an inquiry and the people involved will be questioned.”
He added that a case under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) has been registered based on information received from the ED.
On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate obtained deleted WhatsApp messages from Chakraborty's phone, allegedly indicating dealing in banned drugs. Rhea has been questioned by the ED about the suspected drug deals and her statements have been recorded. Meanwhile, her lawyer has stated that Rhea has never consumed drugs in her life and she is ready to take a blood test to prove it.
In July, Sushant's father KK Singh accused Chakraborty and several others of forcing Sushant to kill himself while cheating him out of money. Based on the allegations, a case was registered by India's Bihar state police.
After the case was registered, India’s economic probe agency ED lodged a case of money laundering against Rhea and several others and launched a probe into suspicious transactions totalling $2 million (INR 150 million) out of Sushant’s account.
The state chief of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, subsequently recommended a CBI investigation into the case which was accepted by the federal government.
Rhea filed a plea in the Supreme Court to transfer the case to the Mumbai police. However, the apex court has since asked the CBI to investigate.
