DEEPAK KOCHHAR ARRESTED BY ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE
28-year-old accuses the deceased actor’s sister of procuring ‘unlawfully prescribed’ drugs
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested former ICICI Bank managing director Chanda Kochhar’s husband, Deepak Kochhar, in connection with a money-laundering probe against the couple and companies linked to them, officials said.
Deepak Kochhar was arrested in Mumbai after he failed to give satisfactory response to fresh evidence gathered by the investigation team suggesting suspicious transactions in his company NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd, officials said.
He was called for questioning and confronted with several documents before being arrested, said an Enforcement Directorate officer.
Deepak Kochhar’s arrest is the first such action in a multiagency investigation against the couple for decisions Chanda Kochhar took as the head of ICICI Bank in giving loans to Videocon Group in lieu of alleged bribes.
MUMBAI: Actor Rhea Chakraborty filed a complaint against Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Priyanka Singh and Delhi-based Dr Tarun Kumar on Monday, alleging Dr Kumar’s prescription for Rajput contained medication prohibited under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Deputy commissioner of police Manjunath Singe confirmed the receipt of the complaint.
Chakraborty’s legal counsel Satish Maneshinde said the sixpage complaint was submitted to Bandra police station to register a first information report against Priyanka and Dr Kumar.
This development came on a day the 28-year-old actor was questioned for nearly eight hours by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) as part of their probe into allegations of drug abuse in Rajput’s death. So far, the agency has arrested nine people in connection with this case, including Chakraborty’s brother Showik. Deputy director general, NCB, Ashok Jain said, “Rhea has been sent home after today’s inquiry and we have asked her to join again tomorrow. She has been cooperating with the investigation. We are verifying and examining the information that we are receiving from the accused.”
Chakraborty’s complaint stated that Rajput was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in addition to other mental health issues, and that he “abruptly” stopped medication. It further alleged that Priyanka, who had no medical training, was sending Rajput medication, which Chakraborty discovered on June 8 after Rajput showed her messages he had exchanged with Priyanka.
“Prima facie, the prescription appeared to be fabricated. The medicines prescribed by the doctor are prohibited from being prescribed electronically without consultation with the patient,” the complaint said. “Rajput died just a few days after he obtained the prescription, wherein he was unlawfully prescribed psychotropic substances at the behest of his sister Priyanka and the doctor Tarun Kumar.” Dr Kumar did not respond to HT’s calls or messages. Rajput’s family lawyer Vikas Singh alleged the complaint was a ploy to derail the ongoing CBi probe. “The complaint is itself an offence. This is a ploy to derail and deflect the investigation. This is an attempt to keep Mumbai police alive in the case so that they can do some mischief and ensure that the family of Sushant does not get justice in this matter,” he told reporters.
Two accused retract statements given to NCB
Two people arrested on charges of drug peddling in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death on Monday retracted their statements given to the NCB, claiming they were recorded under duress. “We filed applications when they were produced before the court, where they retracted the statements given before NCB officers, and we sought bail for them. This is a bailable offence. Also, the amount of narcotic substance involved is in small quantity which entitles the accused to bail,” said advocate Taraq Sayyed, representing . Zaid Vilatra and Abdel Basit Parihar.