The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested Siddharth Pithani, a roommate of Sushant Singh Rajput, in a drug case linked to the Bollywood actor's death last year, an official said on Friday. Pithani was arrested from Hyderabad and brought to Mumbai, he said. Pithani was Rajput's friend and was also staying with the late actor at his Bandra residence in suburban Mumbai, he said. The alleged role of Pithani in the drug case, that emerged post the actor’s death, came to light during the NCB's investigation and hence he was arrested, the official said. A team of the NCB, led by Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, had launched a search for Pithani who was traced in Hyderabad, the official said.
The arrest comes almost two and half months after the Narcotics Control Bureau filed a 1,700-page charge-sheet, detailing drugs seizures, collection of various evidence and investigation done so far, was filed before the special court set up under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The voluminous document has named 33 persons as accused in the case, including Rhea Chakraborty (who was said to be in a relationship with Rajput), her brother Showik, and contains statements of over 200 witnesses.
Eight of the total accused are still in judicial custody, while the rest, including the brother-sister duo, have been granted bail, the NCB said. Further investigation is continuing in respect of several other known and unknown persons, the apex drug law enforcement agency said. During the investigation that started last year, seizures of various narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances, electronic gadgets and Indian as well as foreign currency notes were done, the NCB said.
The case was thoroughly investigated on the basis of seizures effected from the accused persons, voluntary disclosure statements, technical evidence such as connectivity through call details, WhatsApp chats, details of bank accounts/financial transactions and other oral and documentary evidences, the probe agency added.