Setback for Rhea, brother Showik as court rejects their bail plea in drugs case

Mumbai, 11-Sep-2020

A special court in Mumbai on Friday rejected bail pleas of Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and others arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with a drugs case related to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Rhea's legal team is expected to move the Bombay High Court on Monday. Rhea, Showik Chakraborty, Abdul Basit, Zaid Vilatra, Dipesh Sawant and Samuel Miranda were denied bail by the court. They were all arrested by the NCB in connection with the drugs case. After the court's order, Rhea Chakraborty's lawyer Satish Maneshinde told media, "Once we get the order copy. We will decide next week on the course of action on approaching the High Court." Earlier, the NCB has opposed the bail on the grounds that the quantity recovered from them was small yet of commercial standards and worth Rs 1.85 lakh. "Rhea Chakraborty and Showik Chakraborty financed and arranged drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput and at his instructions... as per a statement given by co-accused Dipesh Sawant, he used to procure drugs from other accused in the case on the instruction of Rajput and his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty," the NCB said in its affidavit in response to the bail application. According to the affidavit, Chakraborty was handling the financial transactions of Rajput, while Dipesh Sawant and former house manager of the actor Samuel Miranda would procure drugs for Rajput's consumption. Chakraborty had given a statement to the NCB that she was procuring drugs for the late actor. In her bail plea, however, the 28-year-old actor has said that she was 'coerced' into making incriminating confessions. "During the three-day period when she appeared before the NCB, the applicant (Rhea) was coerced into making incriminating confessions," Chakraborty's bail plea filed by her lawyer Satish Maneshinde said. The plea also added that Chakraborty was formally retracting all the statements cited by the NCB.