MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which is probing the drug angle in Sushant Singh Rajput case, detained Samuel Miranda, a close aide and former manager of Sushant Singh Rajput, after conducting a raid at his house in the wee hours on Friday (September 4).
According to reports, Miranda is likely to be taken to the NCB office after his detention.
Two separate teams of NCB conducted parallel raids at residences of Rhea Chakraborty and Samuel Miranda at around 6:30 am and 6:45 am on Friday morning. The raids were conducted a day after the Mumbai court sent alleged drug peddler Zaid Vilatra to seven-day custody of the
NCB.
An NCB official said the searches are routine and the drug law enforcement agency is following due procedures.
Sources, however, stated that latest raids by NCB were aimed at recovering anything that is related to the drug angle in Sushant death case. They added that during the raid, the NCB officials searched Rhea Chakraborty’s mobile phone, laptop and car.
On the intervening nights of August 27-28, the NCB carried out searches at several locations in Mumbai and arrested two people, namely Abbas Lakhani and Karan Arora. The officials recovered ‘bud’ (curated marijuana) from their possession. The official said that the detailed network analysis and the follow-up investigation uncovered the linkages of Abbas Lakhani with Zaid Vilatra.
NCB sources said that Parihar had connections with Samuel Miranda, who was also a close associate of Rhea Chakraborty. Miranda is accused of procuring drugs on the instructions of Rhea’s brother Showik.
The NCB has registered a case against Rhea, her brother Showik, talent manager Saha, Sushant’s co-manager Shruti Modi, and Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya under Sections 20 (b) 28, 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The NCB registered the case after the Enforcement Directorate wrote to it after WhatsApp messages between Rhea and Shruti Modi, Miranda and Pithani came to light.
Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik was taken for the questioning in Mumbai by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which carried out searches at his home this morning. His laptop was also seized in the searches that began around 6.30 AM. The investigating agency – probing the drugs angle in actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case – has drawn links between Showik and alleged drug dealer Zaid Vilatra, who was arrested on Wednesday.
Another team carried out searches at the home of Sushant Singh Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda. He was also taken for questioning.
“The searches were conducted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985,” an official said.
“It’s just a procedural matter. That is what we are following,” he added.
The drug investigation began after WhatsApp chats retrieved from Rhea Chakraborty’s phone revealed an alleged conversation about procuring drugs between her and a contact saved as “Miranda Sushi” – believed to be Samuel Miranda.
Sources in the agency say 20-year-old Vilatra allegedly supplied cannabis to Showik Chakraborty and Samuel Miranda. They were introduced to each by another middleman Abdel Basit Parihar, 23.
In an interview with a news channel last week, actor Rhea Chakraborty said she had “never consumed drugs in her life” and claimed she had tried to stop Sushant Singh Rajput from consuming marijuana.
Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14.
Rhea Chakraborty, her family and others are being investigated by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), the Enforcement Directorate and the NCB over Sushant Singh Rajput’s family’s allegations that she mentally harassed the actor and had a role in his death.
Two psychiatrists who treated Sushant Singh Rajput in his last few months separately diagnosed the actor as suffering from severe depression, anxiety, an existential crisis and bipolar disorder, according to statements recorded by the Mumbai Police. Both revealed the actor had stopped taking his medicines, which exacerbated his condition and made it very difficult to treat him.
Yesterday, the CBI termed media reports attributed to it on its probe into the death of the actor as “speculative and not based on facts”, in the first official statement from the agency. “CBI spokesperson or any team member has not shared any details of investigation with media. The details being reported and attributed to CBI are not credible,” it said.
