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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Road rage: Businessman assaulted for attempting to run over four men in Navi Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): A group of people assaulted a businessman after he attempted to run over four men with his SUV in an incident of road rage in Navi Mumbai, police said on Saturday.
The police have registered two cases in connection with the incident that occurred in the Sanpada area on Thursday night, an official said.
A group of around 20 people dragged businessman Digvijay Shelke (28) out of his SUV and assaulted him after the latter allegedly attempted to run over four men following an argument, he said.
The official said a quarrel broke out after a man rammed his scooter into a parked car belonging to one Ayush Patil, who was talking to his friends outside a hotel.
Patil and his friends later demanded that the man pay for the damage he did to the car. The man then called up his brother, Bhim Tamrakar, a security guard, and an argument ensued, he said.
Tamrakar called up Shelke, who arrived at the scene and confronted Patil and his friends and allegedly attempted to run them over in a fit of rage, the official said.
A group of 20 people soon gathered outside the hotel and thrashed Shelke, he said.
The official said a case of attempt to murder has been registered against Shelke, and based on his complaint, 23 people have been booked for rioting, assault, and wrongful confinement under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
