Mumbai:
Actor Deepika Padukone’s manager Karishma Prakash is being questioned at the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Mumbai in a drugs case linked to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
The NCB had conducted searches at a property linked to her and issued summons to her, after which officials had seized some material from her home.
Ms Prakash was on Tuesday given time by a court in Mumbai to appear before the anti-drugs agency without being arrested. She had applied for anticipatory bail, after which the special court gave her interim relief till November 7, which means that she can’t be arrested till November 7.
Karishma Prakash had earlier missed summons from the anti-drugs agency and the NCB had said she was untraceable.
The NCB is investigating a drugs case linked to the film industry and has questioned several actors like Ms Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Rakulpreet Singh and Shraddha Kapoor. The probe started after the Enforcement Directorate handed over alleged “drug chats” that the agency said was recovered from the phone of actor Rhea Chakraborty, who had also been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate.
Ms Chakraborty was named in a complaint filed in Patna by Mr Rajput’s parents, who alleged her 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 tussle over jurisdiction between the Mumbai Police and the Patna Police. The Enforcement Directorate, which had proved the money laundering angle, has not found any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Ms Chakraborty so far.
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 drugs syndicate like the probe agency had alleged while arresting her.
Ms Prakash’s name came up in some WhatsApp chats, following which she was questioned in September. At that time, Ms Padukone was also questioned after her name allegedly came up in some WhatsApp group linked to the drugs case and where both she and her manager were members.
