Published 09 Sep, 2020 02:59pm

Rhea Chakraborty and brother arrested in drug case

India's Narcotics Control authority arrested Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty on Tuesday for her alleged role in a drugs case related to Sushant Singh Rajput; an angle that emerged during investigation of the late actor's death.

Following a police complaint filed by Rajput's family accusing her of abetment to suicide, Rhea was questioned under custody of Narcotics Control Bureau for six hours and then eight hours, on Sunday and Monday respectively.

The Jalebi actor was then arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act’s sections 8(c) (sale, possession or manufacture of banned drugs), 20(b)(ii) (possession or use of small quantity of banned drugs) and other relevant provisions.

Rhea had moved in with Rajput in December last year. However, she had gone to stay with her parents at the time of his suicide on June 14. She denies any wrongdoing and her lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, called this “a travesty of justice.”

Her arrest comes a day after she lodged a police complaint against Sushant's sister, Priyanka Singh and Dr Tarun Kumar of New Delhi's RML Hospital and others, alleging forged medical prescriptions.

The actress' 24-year-old brother Showik Chakraborty and Rajput's house manager, Samuel Miranda too, were arrested days earlier. As per reports, the sibling duo named over two dozen film industry personalities who might be summoned by NCB soon.

Following the arrest, her distraught father Indrajit Chakraborty has tweeted about how the focus has shifted to his daughter who found herself amidst allegations, conspiracy theories and rumours:

Seeking public support, he urged friends and followers to raise a voice against unconfirmed reports tarnishing his family's reputation.

Bollywood also spoke up in protest as stars such as Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Dia Mirza, Vidya Balan and Anurag Kashyap posted regarding 'smashing the patriarchy' coupled with the hashtag #JusticeForRhea in support.

Sonam Kapoor (and Walter Kirn) got it right when she wrote, "Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted."

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