NCB summons Deepika, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan in drugs case
Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which is probing an alleged Bollywood-drugs nexus, has summoned actors Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khanand Rakul Preet Singh for questioning, an official said on Wednesday.
The NCB, which began the probe after a drugs angle came to light in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's alleged suicide, has now widened its investigation and asked these `A-list' celebrities to "join the probe", he said.
Their names came up during the interrogation of some persons who were questioned earlier in the case, he said.
Deepika has been called to record her statement on Friday (September 25), he said.
Jaya Saha, a talent manager who was questioned in the case, gave some important information, the NCB official said.
Earlier, Padukone's manager Karishma Prakash was summoned to join the investigation, but she sought time due to ill health, he said, adding she was exempted from appearance till Friday.
Prakash's WhatsApp chats included conversations about drugs with one `D', NCB sources said, adding that the agency wanted to find out who this person was.
The NCB has already arrested actor Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput's girlfriend, for alleged procurement and use of drugs.
On Wednesday, film producer Madhu Mantena arrived at the NCB guest house here to record his statement.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
