Sushant Singh Rajput drugs case: Quick Explainer on why Rhea Chakraborty, brother Showik Chakraborty named in NCB charge sheet

The NCB on Friday filed a charge-sheet before a special court in Mumbai, naming 33 accused, including actress and girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty in Sushant Singh Rajput case.

New Delhi: After a brief silence on late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, finally social media once again saw a flood of tweets, soon after the Narcotics Control Bureau filed its first charge sheet in the case related to the drugs probe. 

Sushant Singh Rajput's death is being investigated by three premier agencies of the country - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) respectively. 

The NCB on Friday filed a charge-sheet before a special court in Mumbai, naming 33 accused, including actress and girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty in the case. 

WHY RHEA CHAKRABORTY AND SHOWIK CHAKRABORTY ARE NAMED IN NCB CHARGESHEET?

Rhea Chakraborty has been named under Section 20 (b), 27 A, 28, 29, 30 while her brother Showik under Section 20 ( b), 28, 29 by the NCB in their charge sheet. 

The 11,700-page charge-sheet has full details of drugs seizures, collection of various evidence and investigation done so far. It was filed before the special court set up under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, according to PTI.

The voluminous document has named 33 persons as accused in the case, including Rhea Chakraborty (who was said to be in a relationship with Sushant Singh Rajput), her brother Showik, and contains statements of over 200 witnesses.

The NCB had in August last year registered two cases related to drugs in connection with the death of Sushant. The NCB arrested Sushant's live-in partner and girlfriend Rhea and his brother Showik in connection with the case, along with several other people in September last year. 

They are currently out on bail. According to reports, the federal agency has so far arrested a total of 33 people, also including Sushant's former manager and staff, and several drug peddlers, in connection with the case. 

Out of the total accused, eight are still in judicial custody, while the rest, including the brother-sister duo, have been granted bail, the NCB said. Further investigation is continuing in respect of several other known and unknown persons, the apex drug law enforcement agency said.

During the investigation, a substantial quantity of narcotics drugs (charas, ganja, LSD, ecstasy) and psychotropic substances (alprazolam and clonazepam), covered under the provisions of sections 20(b), 22, 23 of the NDPS Act, were seized, as per PTI report. 

"Due to ecological concerns, a large portion of the annexures (which form part of the charge-sheet) have been submitted to the honourable court in electronic form. On conclusion of further investigations, supplementary charges shall be filed as per law," the agency said.

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020. The NCB began probing the alleged use of drugs in some quarters in Bollywood after the late actor's sudden demise.

The agency came into action after some WhatsApp chats with reference to drugs surfaced online. 

(With PTI inputs)