Dubai: Showik Chakraborty, the brother of Rhea Chakraborty, used to purchase marijuana from drug peddler Abdel Basit Parihar and make payments through a Google Pay account, the NCB was quoted as saying on Friday by ANI.
Parihar, who was produced in court as the latest information came to light, has been remanded into police custody until September 9. Meanwhile, Showik and Rajput's house manager Samuel Miranda, who were questioned for hours over Rhea's boyfriend Bollywood actor Sushant Singh's death, have been arrested. They will be produced before a court on Saturday.
'Kai Po Che' actor Rajput died by suicide on June 14 and a number of theories have since erupted about his decision. One such line of inquiry is drug use, which is being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau.
What comes next?
An NCB official said that the agency will seek Showik and Miranda's custody for interrogation and will confront them with the other arrested accused.
The official said that the duo will also be grilled over information from seized laptops and chats obtained by the agency.
Search conducted before questioning
Earlier on Friday, NCB issued notices to Showik and Miranda under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, calling them to their headquarters for questioning.
The move was made after thorough searches of their homes; NCB's findings have not been revealed. "Searches were conducted at Samuel Miranda and Showik Chakraborty's places in Mumbai. Senior officers were present during the searches. Both have been issued notices under section 67 of the NDPS Act, to join the investigation," Mutha Ashok Jain, Deputy DG, South-Western Region, NCB said.
They were taken to NCB office in Mumbai.
Other arrests made
In the same case, NCB arrested Zaid Vilatra and Abdel Basit on Thursday. The Esplanade Court that day remanded Zaid Vilatra, an alleged drug peddler, to NCB custody till September 9.
The link
According to NCB officials, Vilatra, in his statement to the agency, said that Parihar used to be the "receiver" of ganja or marijuana from him.
"Parihar, in his statement, revealed that he used to procure drugs from Vilatra and absconding accused Kaizan Ebrahim, as per instructions of Showik, and was directing them to deliver contraband to Samuel Miranda, the house manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput," the NCB said.
The NCB said that there are other instances where Parihar facilitated drug delivery and he was in contact with Showik. "The payment for the drugs was done by Showik to Parihar through Google Pay account," the NCB claimed.
The NCB also said that it is clear from the statement and electronic evidence gathered by the agency that Parihar is an active member of drug syndicate connected with high society personalities.
The court sent Parihar into NCB custody till September 9.
Case registered
The NCB registered a case under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, naming Rhea, her brother, talent manager Jaya Saha, Sushant's co-manager Shruti Modi, and Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya, on August 26 after the Enforcement Directorate wrote to it about the drugs angle.
This followed discovery of WhatsApp messages between Rhea and Shruti Modi, Miranda and Sushant's flatmate Siddharth Pithani.
NCB is the third Central agency to join the probe into the death of Sushant, after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED.
-With inputs from agencies
