Sushant case: Narcotics Control Bureau arrests late actor's personal staff member
Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested Dipesh Sawant, a member of Sushant Singh Rajput's personal staff, in connection with a drugs probe linked to the actor's death, officials said.
The NCB said with the latest action, the total number of arrested in this "ongoing investigation" has risen to seven.
They said Sawant, who was being interrogated since 10 PM last night, has been arrested under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act around 8 PM on Saturday.
"He was subjected to interrogation and confrontation with Showik Chakraborty, Samuel Miranda, Zaid Vilatra and Kaizan Ibrahim.
"His statement was recorded under section 67 of the NDPS Act and on the basis of enough corroborative evidence, he (Sawant) has been placed under arrest," a senior NCB officer said.
He will be produced before the local Esplanade court at 11 AM on Sunday, he said.
A senior NCB officer had earlier said Sawant's role was that of a "witness" in the case.
The federal anti-narcotics agency had on Friday arrested Showik Chakraborty (24), the brother of main accused in this case Rhea Chakraborty, and Samuel Miranda, Rajput's house manager.
Three of the seven arrested, Showik, Miranda and Vilatra (21), are in NCB custody, the agency said.
When the probe in the case began, the agency had arrested two men, Abbas Lakhani and Karan Arora, for alleged drug peddling and officials have claimed that through them they reached Vilatra and Abdel Basit Parihar who are allegedly directly linked to this drugs case as they were in touch with Miranda.
Miranda, they had said, used to allegedly procure drugs from them on the purported instructions of Showik, agency officials said.
Officials have said Rhea (28), Rajput's live-in partner, is expected to be summoned for questioning soon.
This case has given the NCB an "inkling" into the narcotics network and its penetration in Bollywood or Hindi movie industry, NCB Deputy Director General Mutha Ashok Jain told reporters outside the agency's office on Saturday.
Various angles surrounding the death of the 34-year-old actor are being probed by three federal agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The NCB is probing the drug angle in this case under criminal sections of the NDPS Act after the ED shared with it a report following the cloning of two mobile phones of Rhea.
Rajput was found dead at his flat in suburban Bandra area on June 14.
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Bill to regulate deepfakes tabled in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): A Private Member's Bill seeking a clear legal framework for regulation of deepfakes has been introduced in the Lok Sabha.
The Regulation of Deepfake Bill, introduced by Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde in the House on Friday, aims to protect citizens by mandating prior consent from individuals depicted in deepfake content.
"Misuse of deepfakes for harassment, deception and misinformation has escalated, creating an urgent need for regulatory safeguards," Shinde said.
The Bill also lists penalties for offenders creating or disseminating deepfake content with malicious intent.
"With advancements in artificial intelligence and deep learning, deepfake technology has emerged as a significant tool for media manipulation. While the technology has potential applications in education, entertainment and creative fields, it also poses severe risks when misused, threatening individual privacy, national security and public trust," Shinde said in the statement of objects and reasons in the Bill.
The proposed Bill seeks to establish a clear legal framework to govern the creation, distribution and application of deepfakes in India, said Shinde, a three-term Lok Sabha member from Kalyan.
The Bill also seeks to establish the Deepfake Task Force, a dedicated body to combat national security implications and evaluate the influence of deepfakes on privacy, civic participation, and potential election interference.
The task force will collaborate with academic and private sector institutions to develop technologies that detect manipulated content, thereby promoting credibility in digital media.
The Bill also proposes to establish a fund to support public and private sector initiatives in the detection and deterrence of advanced image manipulation.
A Private Member's Bill is a procedure of Parliament that enables lawmakers, who are not ministers, to draw attention to issues that might not be represented in Government Bills or to highlight the issues and gaps in the existing legal framework that require legislative intervention.
