Actor Deepika Padukone's former manager Karishma Prakash, who is being probed in a drug case, continues to evade the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), having failed to appear before the agency on Wednesday.
The agency may take coercive action in this regard, as she has failed to present herself despite summons. “She has not appeared,” confirmed a senior officer on Friday evening. The agency is looking for Prakash in case no. 16 after two types of drugs were seized during searches conducted at her residence on Tuesday. The apex drug law enforcement agency seized a small quantity -- 1.7 grams of hashish and three vials of CBD (cannabidiol) oil -- during the raid.
She has been questioned multiple times in the past in connection with the drug case related to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The agency has been trying to locate her, but to no avail. The NCB sleuths asked an acquaintance of hers to enter her house on Tuesday, after which a thorough search was conducted. A notice had then been pasted at her residence, asking her to be present at the agency’s South Mumbai office at Ballard Estate on Wednesday.
The agency's investigations have revealed that Prakash was in touch with a person already arrested in the case on charges of drug peddling. In its quest to unearth drug syndicates, the agency has been searching various locations as its probe has revealed drugs such as buds or curated marijuana, hashish and cocaine are being smuggled in the country and sold through a network of peddlers in the city.
The NCB has also undertaken technical surveillance in its crackdown on drug trafficking. Prakash is an employee of the KWAN Talent Management agency in Mumbai. She was handling Deepika’s account and is being probed for alleged incriminating chats with the actor in which drugs were discussed.