Bombay:
Actor Deepika Padukone’s director Karishma Prakash is being questioned at the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai in a drug case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The BCN searched her related property and issued a subpoena, after which officials seized equipment from her home.
Ms Prakash was given time by a Mumbai court on Tuesday to appear before the drug agency without being arrested. She had applied for bail, after which the special court granted her interim relief until November 7, which means she can only be arrested on November 7.
Karishma Prakash had previously missed summons from the anti-drug agency and BCN said she was nowhere to be found.
The NCB is investigating a drug case related to the film industry and has interviewed several actors including Ms Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Rakulpreet Singh and Shraddha Kapoor. The investigation began after the Department of Law Enforcement handed over alleged “drug talks” which the agency said were retrieved from the phone of actor Rhea Chakraborty, who had also been interviewed by the Law Enforcement Branch.
Ms Chakraborty was named in a lawsuit filed in Patna by Mr Rajput’s parents, who alleged his actions led to the 34-year-old actor’s death in Mumbai in June.
The case was eventually handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after a dispute over jurisdiction between the Mumbai police and the Patna police. The Law Enforcement Directorate, which had proven the angle of money laundering, has so far found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Ms. Chakraborty.
The 28-year-old actor was, however, arrested by the NCB for allegedly procuring drugs for Mr. Rajput.
The Bombay High Court granted bail to Ms Chakraborty and said there was no evidence to suggest that she was part of a drug union, as the investigative agency alleged during of his arrest.
Ms Prakash’s name appeared in some WhatsApp chats, following which she was questioned in September. At that time, Ms Padukone was also questioned after her name allegedly appeared in a WhatsApp group linked to the drug case and of which she and her manager were members.
