Bollywood drug case: Arrests made and celebs interrogated so far

Investigations into Sushant Singh Rajput's sudden death in June last year, and alleged drug abuse and procurement claims it unravelled, led to the Narcotics Control Bureau springing into action. Celebs like Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan and others were brought in for questioning by the NCB. Since then, officials have been interrogating suspects and making arrests based on their investigation. Take a look at all those who have been put behind bars:

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‘Bigg Boss’ fame Ajaz Khan was arrested by the NCB in March this year. The NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede had said that they have found Ajaz’s involvement in the Shadab Batata case and that he will definitely face serious charges. Contrary to this, Ajaz had revealed that ‘only 4 sleeping pills were found at his home’. He had also said that his wife had suffered a miscarriage and it was she who was using the pills as antidepressants. On August 28, Sameer Wankhede confirmed to ETimes that the actor’s bail plea was rejected by the court. He told ETimes, “The bail has been rejected by the honorary NDPS court as the charges against him are serious”. Khan was arrested under sections 8C, 27A, 28, 29, and 32 of the NDPS act.

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Bollywood and TV actor Gaurav Dixit was recently arrested by the NCB in the same drug case. It has been alleged that Dixit had supplied the drugs to Ajaz Khan. He had been on the run for nearly four months. Ajaz and Gaurav have a direct connection with Shadab Batata. In April, the NCB found large quantities of banned drugs at his house in Lokhandwala. While returning to his house, as soon as the actor and his friend spotted the police, they fled away. Since then, they were on the lookout for him. He has now been sent to NCB custody. Reacting to his arrest, Sameer told ETimes, “In the Shadab Batata case we have already arrested four people including Ajaz Khan and therefore Gaurav becomes very crucial as far as the network is concerned. We have also recovered drugs from his house.”

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Bollywood actor and former ‘Bigg Boss’ contestant Armaan Kohli’s residence was raided by the NCB on August 28. During the house search, drugs were recovered from his residence. He has been arrested under sections 21(a), 27(a), 28, 29, 30, and 35 of the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act. The officials recovered a small quantity of cocaine. At the time of his arrest, the actor was found in an inebriated condition. He has been taken into custody till September 1. The NCB conducted raids at five places in Mumbai and Nallasopara based on the lead it extracted following the arrest of Armaan. The agency has arrested two foreign drug peddlers and recovered drugs.

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Last year, Sushant Singh Rajput passed away at this residence in Bandra. Following his demise, the CBI, ED and NCB started investigating his death. A lot of WhatsApp chats were recovered by the NCB which involved conversations around drug consumption and procurement. His girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty were arrested by the agency as they were accused of SSR’s death. Even celebs like Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor were summoned by the NCB after their chats were recovered. Arjun Rampal and his girlfriend Gabriella were also summoned.

Post this, the NCB has been actively conducting several raids to control the drug menace. Speaking about the possibility of conducting more raids on those in Bollywood, Sameer had told ETimes, “There is zero tolerance but it does not mean we are going after just one industry. We are only concerned about violations of the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) act. For us, it is about whoever is violating the NDPS act; we are not going after a particular industry.”

Pic: Instagram