The death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020 opened the proverbial can of worms when it comes to alleged drug consumption among Bollywood personalities.
Allegations and counter-allegations flew in the wake of the young star’s death, leading to the arrest of his girlfriend actress Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik. A look at the Bollywood-drug cases in the wake of Sushant’s death.
● After Sushant’s death on June 14, 2020, the CBI and the ED began a probe into Rhea Chakraborty's accounts. The NCB also got involved and Rhea and her brother Showik were arrested and booked under the NDPS Act.
● During the investigation, actresses Rakul Preet Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan and fashion designer Simone Khambatta were questioned by the NCB. The officials also seized their mobile phones under the Indian Evidence Act.
● On November 9 last year, the NCB searched actor Arjun Rampal's residence in connection to the drug haul and seized 14 tablets of Clonazepam Dispersible Tablet Clonotril and four tablets of Ultracet Tramadol Hydrochloride and Acetaminophen. Rampal, however, later submitted prescriptions for the said drugs.
● Also in November last year, the NCB arrested stand-up comic Bharti Singh and her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa after it seized drugs from their house in Mumbai. The NCB had searched the couple’s office and house and recovered 86.5 gm cannabis.
● Dhruv Tahil, 30, son of actor Dalip Tahil, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Mumbai Police on May 5 this year for allegedly buying and consuming drugs from an accused who was arrested by the agency. During investigations, Tahil’s name had cropped up in the accused's mobile phone and WhatsApp chats, wherein Tahil is said to have demanded the contraband substance several times.
● Earlier this year, actor Ajaz Khan was arrested in connection with a drugs case by the NCB, who had conducted a raid in April and found 4.5 gm Alprozol tablets.
● On August 29, the NCB arrested actor Armaan Kohli after drugs were found at his house. His bail plea was rejected twice.
