Showik may help ‘uproot Bollywood drug citadel’, Rhea to be probed, says narcotics cell

Mumbai, Sep 5 (IANS) Diving deep into the drugs angle to the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case, the Narcotics Control Bureau has claimed that prime accused Showik Chakraborty has revealed many names which could help “uproot the drug citadel in Bollywood and Mumbai”, in its remand plea, here on Saturday.

Hinting at summons to or even the possible arrest of Sushant’s ex-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, the NCB remand plea – seeking Showik’s custody for five days’ interrogation – says that he would have to be confronted with his sister (Rhea) and another person Dipesh Sawant.

This was to investigate the specific roles/ingredients of criminal conspiracy, abetments and various attempts to commit offences, besides track and verify the financial trail of all their previous drug purchases of Showik — who was arrested on September 4.

Based on the CDR records, WhatsApp chats and preliminary interrogation of those deeply entrenched in drug trafficking, the NCB said it wants to trace and verify “some characters” who are still absconding and have to be arrested.

Showik used to facilitate drug deliveries and payments through cash, credit cards, payment gateways for the contraband drugs, posing a serious threat to public safety and health, said the NCB in the remand plea filed before the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mumbai.

He, along with co-accused Samuel Miranda, was shunted to NCB custody for four days till September 9, NCB Deputy Director M.A. Jain told media persons, hinting at a possible international racket to the whole drugs angle.

Showik’s involvement tumbled out after the NCB Mumbai and New Delhi teams on August 28, nabbed Abbas R. Lakhani and Karn V. Arora from old Kurla and Chandivali, Powai, each with possession of 46 grams of marijuana/ganja and 13 grams, respectively.

They disclosed the involvement of Zaid Vilatra whose home was raided to unearth Rs 9.50 lakh — USD 2,081, 180 British Pounds and UAE 15 Dirhams which they confessed were the proceeds of sale of drugs like marijuana/ganja/bud to many people in the city.

Vilatra was arrested on September 2 and remanded to custody for 7 days by the same court, and during interrogation, he revealed the names of a buyer Abdel Basit Parihar, nabbed on September 3.

Parihar – who the NCB describes as an ‘active member’ of a drug syndicate with high profile customer and narcotics suppliers – on his interrogation revealed the further modus operandi of the narco-business.

He told the NCB that he purchased the drugs from Vilatra and Kaizan Ebrahim on instructions from Showik, facilitated drugs and was in touch with both Showik and Sushant’s home manager Samuel Miranda.

Armed with Parihar’s statement, the NCB on Friday summoned Showik, who on the basis of his “voluntary statement”, was arrested late on September 4 for his illicit drug dealings.

Seeking Showik’s custody, the NCB said it may lead to some of the main players in the drug field, his connections with many other persons, the payments made or received by him through various modes, etc.

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Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has triggered a public outrage and demand for justice that has jolted the system. The outpour of support has even sailed across the oceans. Before the Supreme Court order for CBI investigation came about, the demand for justice was heard in Atlanta. “Atlanta has a large Indian American presence and we noticed that a lot of people here were keen to play a part in this movement and therefore we decided to stand in solidarity with Sushant’s family and all the people in India demanding a CBI probe,” said Abhijeet Takur who initiated the efforts for the actor’s Billboard near the Global Mall in Norcross. “We have been following this case and it’s coverage for the last two months over the Indian media channels especially Republic World. We noticed deep anguish amongst common people even in far off countries around this case and soon there were reports that people from California, Melbourne were joining this cause and raising awareness around this case by putting up large billboards in their respective cities,” said Takur about the origins of the idea. The “shoddy manner” in which agencies investigated the unnatural death deeply saddened and hurt the sentiment of people, says Takur. The demand of the movement is a free, fair unbiased investigation by CBI to bring the culprits to justice and a possible expose of’ some of the unscrupulous activities in Bollywood, says Takur. “If people unite then it has the capability and strength to move mountains.” Like many, Takur too felt a personal connection. “I personally felt a deep emotional connect with Sushant like millions of others. He was a bright young star, with exuberance and zest for life and the more you read about the way he achieved success in Bollywood is very inspiring. Beyond that he was a dutiful son and a loving brother to his elder sisters.” “I would like to thank Rinki Patnaik for leading the charge in arranging the funds which were required to put up the Billboard. I would like to thank Mustafa Ajmeri, Swati Thakur, Ritesh Chahuhan & Sanjeev Gupta for supporting this cause in Atlanta,” said Takur. Full Report by @jyothsna_hegde on our website. Link in bio. #justiceforssr

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