By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, September 5:
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday night arrested actress Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik Chakraborty and late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s ex-house manager Samuel Miranda in connection with the drugs probe linked Sushant’s death.
Deputy director KPS Malhotra of the NCB said, “We have informed Showik and Samuel Miranda’s family and both have been arrested under several sections of NDPS act”. Both will be produced in the court on Saturday.
A team from the NCB had raided the residence of Showik in Santa Cruz (West) area and Miranda’s residence in suburban Andheri (West) in North West Mumbai in the early hours of Friday. Besides, the NCB had earlier arrested two drug peddlers operating in Mumbai named Zaid Vilatra and Abdel Basit Parihar, who had revealed Showik and Miranda’s name upon interrogation.
An analysis of Showik’s chats revealed that on March 17, 2020, he shared Vilatra’s contact number with Miranda and asked to him to pay Rs 10,000 for 5 gms of drugs. Thereafter, Miranda contacted Vilatra on Showik’s behest. NCB sources said that there had been many instances where Parihar arranged drugs and was in regular contact with Showik.
Parihar is said to be having links with the narcotics case registered against Rhea and others. Rhea is the main accused in the death case of the 34-year-old actor, who was found dead at his Bandra apartment in North West Mumbai on June 14. While the death case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is engaged in investigating the money laundering angle. The NCB came into fray after it was alleged that Rhea and her brothers were involved in drug deals.
However the CBI is yet to prove charges of abetment to suicide against Rhea. Also, the ED too is yet to prove charges that the funds were siphoned off by Rhea from Sushant’s bank accounts. The CBI team which had come to Mumbai with an initial plan of 10 days, has already extended its stay in the city.
In the meanwhile the Producers Guild Of India (PGI) has deplored the attempts to “ slander the film industry and its members” over the Sushant’s case. In a statement the PGI said that “The last few months have seen relentless attacks on the reputation of the Indian film industry across all media. The tragic death of a promising young star has been used by some as a tool to defame the film industry. A picture has been painted of the industry as a terrible place for outsiders to aspire to, a place that treats those who dare to enter it with contempt and derision, a murky den of substance abuse and criminality. This narrative is salacious enough for the media to exploit to great effect in order to boost its ratings, readership and page views.
“But it is not the truth. “Like any other sector, there is no doubt that the film industry has its imperfections, and there must always be an ongoing attempt by any industry to improve upon itself, learn and evolve, while weeding out unsavoury elements or improper practices that hold it back. But to paint an entire industry with the same brush is a gross misrepresentation of reality”.
