Sushant Singh Rajput death case: Rhea Chakraborty to spend night in custody as her bail plea gets rejected

A court on Tuesday remanded Rhea Chakraborty, arrested in a drugs case related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, in judicial custody till September 22 while rejecting her bail plea. She was produced by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) before an additional chief judicial magistrate through video- conference after her arrest.

The NCB claimed that she was an "active member" of a drugs syndicate and procured drugs for Rajput. The court rejected her bail plea and sent her in judicial custody till September 22. Her lawyer Satish Maneshinde said they will approach the sessions court for bail. 

Her lawyer will approach the sessions court on September 9. Rhea's bail application was dismissed on Tuesday. She will go to jail on September 9 at 10 am.

The sections of the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act invoked against her include 8(c) (sale, possession or manufacture of banned drugs), 20(b) (ii) (possession or use of a small quantity of banned drugs), as per her lawyers. "Rhea has been arrested under sections 27A, 21, 22, 29 and 28 of NDPS," said K P S Malhotra, Deputy Director of NCB.

After the arrest, she was taken for medical tests including COVID-19 test to the civic-run Sion hospital in Central Mumbai. Before leaving for the hospital in a vehicle with NCB officials, the actor, clad in black, waved at media persons. She was accompanied by a woman police official too.

At the hospital, her antigen test for COVID-19 came out negative, officials said. She was then taken to the NCB office around 7.15 pm, where she was to be produced before the court through video conferencing. Speaking to media persons, Mutha Ashok Jain, NCB Deputy Director-General, South West region, had said the central agency had enough evidence to arrest her. 

Reacting to the development, Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey said, "Rhea is totally exposed in the sense that she had connections with drug peddlers. This has been established, that is why she has been arrested." He added that the Narcotics Control Bureau must have found evidence against her.

It has been learnt from sources, the NCB also quizzed Rhea on the same question which Zee News highlighted - "Drugs or medicine, what will you give if your friend is unwell?"

Meanwhile, her lawyer, Satish Maneshinde after her arrest said, "Travesty of Justice. 3 Central Agencies hounding a single Woman, just because she was in love with a Drug Addict and was suffering from Mental Health issues for several years under the care of 5 Leading Psychiatrists in Mumbai, who ended up committing suicide due to consumption of Illegally Administered Medicines and used drugs."

Rhea has confessed before the NCB that she used to smoke cigarettes filled with marijuana (ganja). Rhea told the NCB during questioning that she used to smoke drugs-filled cigarette with the late Sushant Singh Rajput. Rhea also claimed during interrogation that Sushant was consuming drugs since 2016. This has been revealed by electronic gadgets recovered from Rhea's home. The forensic investigation of Rhea's old mobile phone, laptop and tablet has revealed several things to the NCB.

The gadgets recovered from Rhea's home revealed that her drugs circle was highly active in 2017, 2018, 2019. Investigating agencies have recovered several photographs, videos, WhatsApp chats and SMS related to the drugs circle in the electronic device recovered from Rhea's home. It is learnt that several big names of Bollywood are spotted in these photographs and videos. Many famous Bollywood stars are now under NCB's scanner and it remains to be seen whether the NCB will question them or not.

Earlier, chats of Rhea asking Showik to get drugs for Sushant had surfaced. When asked what happened next after the chat, Rhea disclosed that Showik through her contacts got bud and weed which was given to the actress, who in turn gave it to Sushant. On this basis, the entire chat chronology was understood, followed by Rhea's arrest by the NCB. 

Meanwhile, the NCB is likely to make a big arrest in connection with the drug probe related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death. The NCB is planning to question Sushant's servant Neeraj as Rhea, Showik and Samuel have given some important information related to Neeraj in this matter. The NCB may also summon Sushant's chartered accountant Shruti Modi.

On September 7, Rhea failed to give answers to several important questions asked by the NCB. For example, the NCB asked Rhea whether she was getting drugs delivered at her home, whose money was used to buy drugs and whether Sushant also used to consume drugs at the hotel in Mumbai where he used to stay.

Earlier the NCB had arrested her brother Showik Chakraborty, Sushant Singh Rajput's manager Samuel Miranda and his domestic help Dipesh Sawant in the case. Rhea Chakraborty was recently interrogated by the CBI probe team as she is the main accused in the abetment of suicide case filed by Rajput's father, and also by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. She has denied all the allegations many times.

Various angles surrounding the death of Sushant are being probed by three federal agencies, including the ED and the CBI.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against actor Sushant Singh Rajput's sisters and others for abetment to suicide and criminal conspiracy by prescribing him medicines banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The case was registered after the actor's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty claimed they prescribed drugs to him without consultation. An offence has been registered against Sushant's sisters Priyanka Singh and Meetu Singh, Delhi-based doctor Tarun Kumar and others. 

Rhea in her complaint claimed these persons hatched a conspiracy and obtained false prescription on the letterhead of a government hospital for banned medicines and administered the same to the actor without supervising doses and quantity. Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14.