Rhea Chakraborty cornered as Dipesh & Miranda spill beans; NCB wise to her deleted chats

As the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) summoned Rhea Chakraborty in the probe related to the drug angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, sources have informed about the line of questioning that will be followed by the central agency. The agency will question Rhea on 70 allegedly deleted WhatsApp chats as well as a March 15 drug chat that she allegedly had with her brother Showik - who is now in NCB custody. Amit Gawate, Joint director of NCB, briefed media on Sunday and said that Rhea will be cross-examined on the basis of statements by the other accused.

ED has analysed WhatsApp conversations between Rhea and the others regarding consuming marijuana and Cannabidiol (CBD) illegally since 2017. It summarises three conversations which point to  - illegal procurement of weed by Showik in April-May 2020, Saha delivering CBD to Rhea to allegedly mix with Rajput's coffee in November 2019 and similar such conversations about procuring drugs illegally in March 2017 and April 2020. 

The NCB sources also said that Rhea Chakraborty will face the heat of investigation as she will be asked about the alleged confession of Showik Chakraborty in which he had said that Rhea told her to procure drugs. Moreover, as per sources, Rhea will also be questioned on Pawna parties at Sushant's farmhouse and all the influential people who attended it, with Dipesh Sawant and Samuel Miranda allegedly spilling the beans on big names who attended said parties and also those who consumed drugs.

READ | NCB issues first response after summoning Rhea Chakraborty; Dipesh taken out from office

Showik Chakraborty has allegedly confessed that he had procured drugs on the instructions of his sister Rhea, adding that he was in contact with several other drug peddlers, as per NCB sources. Top sources have also told Republic Media Network that Showik met alleged drug peddler Basit Parihar at a football club in Bandra and through him, he was introduced to Kaizan. Kaizan works as a PR executive in a restaurant, sources said, adding that he allegedly supplied drugs to friends through Showik contacts. Sources added that Showik, Basit, Zaid, Kaizan, Karan and Abbas were dealing with curated marijuana or bud, and the alleged drug dealers visited the Chakarbortys regularly. 

NCB has so far arrested eight individuals in the case, namely,  Abbas Lakhani, Karan Arora, Abdel Basit Parihar, Samuel Miranda, Showik Chakraborty, Dipesh Sawant, Kaizan Ebrahim and Zaid Vilatra after registering case under sections 20, 27 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). 

READ | Rhea Chakraborty decides on NCB's options for her summons; seeks Mumbai Police protection

Rhea Chakraborty summoned

On Sunday, the NCB has summoned Rhea Chakraborty in its drug cartel probe. The NCB team along Mumbai Police personnel arrived at Rhea's residence to serve the summons to accused number one in the Sushant's death case. Joint Director of NCB Sameer Wankhede said that Rhea's presence in the probe on Sunday is a must and there will be no exceptions. The time given to Rhea to appear before the NCB is 11 AM.

Sources have confirmed that Rhea Chakraborty has decided to join the probe at the NCB office in her own car at 10:30 am. She has asked for security from the Mumbai Police on her way to join the investigation. Massive police presence is seen outside Rhea's residence with women Police officers and a Mumbai Police van also at the spot on Sunday. Before the NCB, Rhea has been grilled by Enforcement Directorate in the case related to money laundering as well as by the CBI for four days. 

READ | CBI probing if Sushant was forcefully given drugs; if Rhea introduced him

Showik, Miranda in NCB's custody; Dipesh Sawant arrested

Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik and Sushant's house manager Samuel Miranda have been sent to 4-day NCB custody. Alleged drug peddler Kaizan was also sent to 14 days of judicial custody, but was granted bail on a surety of Rs 10,000. Follwing the development, the NCB arrested Sushant Singh Rajput’s staff Dipesh Sawant, grilled him overnight, and will now produce him in court.

READ | Rhea Chakraborty summoned by NCB in Sushant case drug probe; 'must come, no exceptions'