NCB drug quiz awaits Rhea
Rhea's father questioned by ED while brother faces CBI sleuths
The father of actor Rhea Chakraborty, Indrajit Chakraborty, had to be escorted on Thursday from his residence to the office of the Enforcement Directorate where he had been summoned for inquiries, as mediapersons thronged his neighbourhood.
However, he was first taken to the Vakola branch of the Axis Bank to access his locker, where he supposedly obtained financial documents to produce before the ED officials. He was later taken to the Santacruz police station for enquiries.
The ED officials are probing money-laundering allegations after Rs 15 crore were reported missing from Rajput's account.
His son Showik, meanwhile, reached the DRDO guesthouse, to face the CBI sleuths. Working in tandem, a Mumbai team from the Narcotics Control Bureau has begun investigating the drug ring and is likely to issue summons to Rhea.
Three members from its Delhi unit arrived in the city and met the CBI team, housed at the DRDO guesthouse. On Wednesday, the NCB had registered a case against Rhea and her four accomplices who allegedly purchased and consumed drugs in the SSR household.
Prior to appearing before the NCB, Rhea gave an interview to the television channel India Today,
'AU' IS NOT AADITYA In an interview, Rhea reiterated that she did not know Aaditya Thackeray personally, and had never met him or spoken to him. "A contact of a friend of mine named Anaya Udas is saved in my phone as `AU'. Some people have said that AU stands for `Aaditya Uddhav',
in which she reportedly said that Sushant used to smoke marijuana and she tried to wean him off the habit. Apparently, he had fallen into the habit around the time he was shooting for 'Kedarnath'. On being asked whether she used to take drugs, she denied doing so and refused to answer any further questions on the subject, saying she did not want to hurt the investigation. The NCB will soon question 20 suspects in connection with the drug angle. Sources said those who might be questioned include Gaurav Arya, Suved Lohia, Kwan Entertaiment partner Jaya Shah, Ejaz Khan, Farookh Batata and Bakul Chandani, among others. Reacting to allegations that Chakraborty, 28, took drugs or had given banned substances to her boyfriend Rajput, her advocate Satish Maneshinde said, "Rhea has never consumed drugs in her life, and she is ready to undergo a blood test. "Earlier, Mumbai Police were probing the case, then Bihar Police came into the picture, followed by the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI and, now, the Narcotics Control Bureau," Maneshinde said. Showik is being questioned by the CBI team about the financial transactions between him, Rajput and his sister, who were partners in the firm, Rhealityx. The CBI probe entered the seventh day on Thursday; interestingly, Rajput's flatmate Siddharth Pithani has been called for questioning every single day so far.