Fresh woes for Rampal

Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal’s troubles mounted as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested his Australian friend Paul Bartel in a drug-related case investigation, official sources said in Mumbai on Friday.

Bartel was reportedly in regular contact with Agisialos Demetriades, an alleged drug peddler, arrested by NCB in October, and the brother of Gabriella Demetriades, Rampal’s live-in partner.

An architect living in Bandra, Bartel was questioned by NCB on Thursday and early on Friday placed under arrest in the same case in which Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty and at least 20 others have been arrested during the past three months. On Friday, Rampal was grilled by the NCB, his girlfriend Gabriella was questioned for more than 12 hours spread over Wednesday-Thursday, while Bartel was quizzed on Thursday. Agisialos has been booked in another drug case after the probe revealed his connections with a Nigerian cocaine supplier, Omega Goodwin.

Both Bartel and Agisialos are known to Rampal as well as other film personalities, even as the NCB tightens it grip on the Bollywood-drugs mafia cartels. — IANS