After almost 14 months, a special anti-drugs court ordered the actress Rhea Chakraborty’s bank accounts to be unfrozen. Her laptop and phone have also been returned to her by the court. The actress had requested access to her financial accounts and computer devices in a special court filing. For the return of her laptop and phone, she must post a one-lakh indemnity bond. The judge ordered that she not dispose of or sell the phone or laptop until the investigation is completed.
Ms Chakraborty and her brother were among more than two dozen people arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on September 8 last year on suspicion of providing drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput, a 34-year-old Bollywood actor who was discovered dead in his Mumbai home on June 14. A few days later, her bank accounts were stopped.
The actress’s lawyer, Nikhil Maneshinde, contended that the case would take time to resolve and that freezing the bank accounts was unnecessary.
The financial investigation in the case is ongoing, according to special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande, who represents the anti-drugs agency, and the probe could be harmed if the accounts were unfrozen.
“From the (NCB) officer’s response, it appears that the respondent side has no strong objection to the applicant’s bank account and FDs (fixed deposits) being unfrozen,” the court stated in approving Ms Chakraborty’s plea.
The investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, which began as a suicide investigation, has taken several unexpected turns over the last year. After Mr Rajput’s father, KK Singh, accused the 29-year-old actress of mentally torturing him, medicating him, and stealing from him, the CBI took over the case.
The actress was detained for 28 days, while her brother Showik was detained for over three months before being released on bond.
The NCB accused Ms Chakraborty of being “an active part of a drugs syndicate” and of financing drugs for her lover, Mr Rajput.
The anti-drugs agency repeatedly stated that the brother-sister combination had purchased drugs for the purpose of supplying them to Mr Rajput, which is a “severe violation” related to drug funding.
