NCB gets custody of Rhea's brother; to probe 'drugs network' in Bollywood

Narcotics Control Bureau, which on Saturday obtained custody of Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik in the drugs case linked to the probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, said it will also probe "narcotics network and penetration" in Bollywood.

Showik Chakraborty "dealt in drugs with many others", the NCB told a court here as it obtained his custody alongwith that of Rajput's house manager Samuel Miranda till September 9.

"Normally this is not part of our mandate but now that we are getting information... This case has given us an inkling of the network and the extent of the penetration," NCB Deputy Director General of the south-west region, Mutha Ashok Jain, told reporters outside his office when asked if the agency has evidence on the drugs nexus in Bollywood.

While its mandate is to "look for the big fish" and probe international and inter-state drugs transactions, it will "not shirk its responsibility" now that it is getting information about this alleged drugs nexus, he added.

"The whole idea of taking custody remand (of Showik and Miranda) is to make people confront each other to clarify their individual role. So, yes we will be asking her (Rhea) to join investigation and may be some other people because we also need to clarity as to who did what," he said.

Showik and Miranda were arrested on Friday night by the NCB under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after questioning them for 10 hours.

The NCB produced them in a court here on Saturday. Seeking their custody, it said Showik needs to be confronted with Rajput's personal staff Dipesh Sawant, and Rhea who is the main accused in the actor's death case.

Abdel Basit Parihar, arrested earlier in the drugs case, was in contact with Showik and Miranda, the NCB told the court.

"Further, some characters are to be verified, who as per the CDR (Call Data Record) analysis, Whatsapp chat and preliminary interrogation are deeply entrenched in the drug trafficking," the agency added.

Besides Showik and Miranda, Kaizan Ibrahim, another accused, was also produced before the court. He was remanded in judicial custody as the NCB did not seek his remand.

Besides Showik, Miranda and Kaizan, the NCB has arrested Zaid Vilatra (21) and Parihar (23).

Various angles surrounding Rajput's death are being probed by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and NCB.

Rajput was found hanging at his flat in Mumbai's Bandra area on June 14. Actor Rhea Chakraborty, his live-in partner, is accused of abetting his alleged suicide.

A CBI team visited Rajput's Bandra flat again on Saturday as part of its investigation into the suicide case.

Rajput's cooks Neeraj and Keshav, and his flatmate Siddharth Pithani accompanied the team, an official said.

In the last two weeks, the central probe agency had visited the flat at least two times to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the actor's death.

Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh told reporters in Nagpur that the Mumbai police is extending full cooperation to the CBI. The case was earlier being handled by the Mumbai police.