NCB ‘question bank’ for Sara, Deepika, Shraddha

By Anand Singh and Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, Sep 26 Three Bollywood divas — Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor — are being questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in a drugs related case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The agency after questioning several other accused in the case has prepared a list of questions that it is seeking answers to from the three actors which can spell trouble for them.

According to NCB sources, the three actors have been asked to join the probe after several alleged chats came to light where drugs were being discussed. The source said that Deepika will be first asked to identify the mobile number in the alleged chat with her former manager Karishma Prakash. She will also be asked if she sent those messages or someone on her behalf sent the alleged messages enquiring about “maal” from Karishma.

The sources said that the NCB will also ask Deepika, who is the daughter of badminton icon Prakash Padukone, if she used to consume drugs, if yes, from where she used to procure them and who made the payment for the drugs.

The NCB will also ask her if she was procuring the drugs for her personal consumption or for someone else and since when she has been using these substances and who all were the persons who provided her these drugs. She will also be asked for how long she has known Karishma and Sushant’s former talent manager Jaya Saha, who worked with Kwan Talent Management Agency.

Similarly, Shraddha, who is the daughter of actor Shakti Kapoor, will be asked about her alleged chats with Saha to get the CBD oil. The NCB source said that she will be asked since when she was procuring drugs and for whom and whether she consumed them and who paid for them.

The source said that Shraddha, who starred with Sushant in “Chichhore”, will also be questioned about her visits to the Pawna resort, where the alleged drugs party was hosted, along with Sushant. She will be asked for how long she knew Sushant and did they consume drugs together and who procured the drugs for the parties, and who made the payment for them.

Meanwhile, Sara, daughter of actor Saif Ali Khan, is also being questioned in the case and will be asked if she too consumed drugs. Sara’s troubles began after Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty in a television interview claimed that the late actor got into the habit of smoking marijuana during the shooting of “Kedarnath”.

Sara and Sushant were the lead actors of “Kedarnath”. Sara will also be questioned if she knew of the drug usage by Sushant during the shooting of the film and from where these drugs came and who paid for them.

The NCB has already recorded the statement of Sushant’s former manager Shruti Modi, Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh, Dharma Productions former executive producer Kshitij Prasad Ravi, Kwan Talent Management Agency CEO Dhruv Chitgopekar, producer Madhu Mantena Varma and several others.

The NCB has arrested Rhea, her brother Showik, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda, personal staff Dipesh Sawant and 16 drug peddlers in the case.

The NCB registered a case under the NDPS Act after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing a money laundering case linked to the death of Sushant on the basis of a Bihar Police FIR, wrote to the NCB. The ED had detected several drug chats from the seized electronic devices of the accused.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in and Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)