Actor Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik and Sushant Singh Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda were arrested on Friday after being questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) which is probing allegations of drug abuse surround Mr Rajput’s death in June.
Earlier this morning, a team from the NCB accompanied by police officials raided the homes of Showik Chakraborty and Mr Miranda at around 6:30 am. The search teams included women officials and they were seen wearing masks and gloves and using multiple vehicles.
NCB Deputy Director (operations) K P S Malhotra, who is heading the probe team of the agency, was seen leading the search and he told journalists that the houses of Showik and Miranda were being searched as a “procedural” action. Showik and Rhea Chakraborty live in the same house.
Another senior official said the agency is looking to gather additional evidence and some documents have been seized by the search teams. They said both Showik and Miranda were handed over summons to join the investigation during the search.
Later in the day, the two men were taken by the NCB search team and questioned at the agency’s office in the city.
The NCB so far has arrested two alleged drug dealers operating in the capital city of Maharashtra in this case and detained one person.
The two arrested are Zaid Vilatra, 21, and Abdel Basit Parihar while Kaizan Ibrahim is being questioned since Thursday.
Parihar is learnt to have “links” with the narcotics case registered against Sushant Singh’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, 28, and others, news agency PTI reported.
Parihar is linked to a person who in turn allegedly featured in chats recovered from the mobile phone of Rhea and Showik, officials have said.
Rhea has been accused in the death of the 34-year-old actor that is being probed by the NCB, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money laundering charges and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The NCB began the probing intro the drug angle in this case after inputs from the ED.
The NCB has said that it is looking into “the drug citadel in Mumbai, and especially Bollywood” in this case. According to officials, the mobile phone chats and messages indicated procurement, transportation and consumption of drugs and these leads were shared by the ED with the NCB and the CBI.