Drugs case: Court denies bail to Rhea Chakraborty, Showik and 4 others
Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai on Friday denied bail to Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik, arrested by the NCB in connection with a drugs-related case pertaining to the death of filmstar Sushant Singh Rajput.
Their bail applications were rejected by judge G B Gurao of the special court hearing cases filed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The court also rejected the bail pleas of four other accused in the case. Special Public Prosecutor Atul Sarpande had opposed their bail saying Rhea and Showik financed and arranged drugs.
Rhea, who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday after three days of questioning, is currently in judicial custody. Showik and Rajput's house manager Samuel Miranda were arrested by the agency last week.
The NCB is probing the drug angle in this case under criminal sections of the NDPS Act after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) shared with it a report following the cloning of two mobile phones of Rhea.
Various angles surrounding the death of Rajput are being probed by the NCB, ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Rajput was found dead at his Bandra flat 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.
Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
