The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested television comedian Bharti Singh and her husband Harsh Limbachiya after they were found with 86.5 grams of ganja. Both were arrested under the provisions of the NDPS Act and will be produced before the holiday court on Sunday.
The agency raided two places on Saturday, including the production office and residence of Singh, and found the ganja. “Both Bharti Singh and her husband, Harsh Limbachiya, accepted the consumption of ganja,” an NCB press release said.
NCB officials have been gunning for drug peddlers and users in recent months, since the investigation of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput threw light on the prevalence of drugs in certain sections of the film industry.
In the past two months, more than 25 people, including actors Preetika Chauhan, film producer Firoz Nadiadwala's wife Shabina Saeed, Australian architect Paul Bartel and South African national Agisilous Demetriades were arrested.
Zonal NCB director Sameer Wankhede and his team also raided a place in Khar Danda and caught a 21-year-old man suspected to be a drug trafficker and seized various drugs, including 15 blots of LSD, 40 grams of ganja and nitrazepam, a scheduled drug.
In the Bharti Singh case, sources said 86 grams of ganja was a small quantity and was likely to result in grant of bail.
The quantum of sentence and fine varies with the offence. For many offences, the penalty depends on the quantity of drug involved, whether small quantity, more than small but less than commercial quantity, or commercial quantity. Small and commercial quantities are notified for each drug. The law defines up to a kg of ganja as small quantity, and 20 kg and above as commercial quantity. "The seized drugs fall under the definition of small quantity and attract a punishment of imprisonment for a term of one year with fine or both and are triable by the magistrate court," advocate Ayaz Khan said.