Actor Arjun Rampal is going to appear before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) today for questioning into the drugs case. The actor’s partner, Gabriella Demetriades, was questioned by the agency on Thursday for six hours after which she was summoned to appear again on Friday. As reported by Mid-Day, apart from questioning Arjun, the agency is also going to ask him to present a medical paper to justify the presence of the banned drug recovered from his house during the raid that took place on November 9.
The NCB official did not reveal the name of the drug but mentioned that The Ministry of Finance had banned the drug under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2018 after a smuggling racket was busted. The said drug is also known as ‘ISIS drug’ or ‘fighter drug’ because of its wide usage by the global terror groups to boost their energy after sustaining an injury.
The daily quoted an official from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad as saying, “The drug, a painkiller, was banned by the Centre in 2018 after probe agencies found that it was being smuggled at international level and has links to the terror group, the Islamic State. The NCB and police have been authorised to raid and prosecute those found in possession of the drug without a valid prescription.”
Talking about how Arjun has to present a legit medical prescription today, an NCB official said, “At the time of the search, we didn’t find any valid prescription, and nothing was shown to us (by Rampal) either. If he brings a prescription on Friday, the same will be thoroughly examined to ascertain if it’s genuine and who prescribed it to him and why.”
Meanwhile, no evidence was found linking Gabriella with any drug peddler or drug nexus after she was questioned for over six hours on Thursday.