The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which has been trying to unmask the identities of people who are supplying narcotics to various people in the Bollywood film industry following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, summoned actor Arjun Rampal for the second time Monday. While interrogating the actor, the department found that prescription submitted by Arjun Rampal, for the banned tablets recovered from his residence in November 2020, was a backdated one.
For the unversed, last month the NCB officials had raided Arjun Rampal’s residence and found tablet clonazepam which was banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2018 after a massive smuggling racket was busted. Soon after, the actor and his partner Gabriella Demetriades were called for questioning by the NCB over the banned tablets.
Meanwhile, following the revelation, NCB contacted and summoned Dr Rohit Garg, the senior psychiatrist, based in Delhi, who had written the backdated prescription for the actor. The department recorded his statement under Section 164 of the CrPC.
Wrote the prescription in ‘good faith’: Doctor who gave the backdated prescription to the actor tells NCB
The doctor confessed to writing the prescription in ‘good faith’ and said he was not aware of the NCB probe. He said that Arjun Rampal approached him through a family friend and he was unaware of the ongoing investigation. He assured full cooperation to the agency.
Speaking to mid-day, the doctor said: “The matter is sub-judice, so I won’t be able to share details with you. I have shared all the information with the NCB officers and I have recorded my statement in from of the magistrate. I will cooperate with the authorities for further probe in the case and will share whatever information is required from me.”
Arjun Rampal and his alleged link with the Bollywood-drug nexus
It is pertinent to note here that, actor Arjun Rampal was summoned last week, but he had written to the NCB seeking time till December 22, citing some ‘personal’ commitments. Earlier on November 13, the actor was interrogated for nearly 7 hours after the NCB raided his home and took away nearly a dozen electronic gadgets besides some banned ‘medical’ tablets.
The raid had come days after his girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades’ brother was arrested over allegations of being in touch with drug peddlers. The South African national was reportedly in touch with the drug peddlers arrested in connection to Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
As NCB delved into the case further, it arrested an Australian citizen named Paul Bartel. Bartel who was the 26th accused arrested in connection to the case by the central investigative agency also had links with actor Arjun Rampal. It was revealed that Bartel was in touch with Agisilaos Demetriades who is the brother of Gabriella, the girlfriend of Bollywood actor and model Arjun Rampal.
Arjun Rampal allegedly supplies drugs to Shah Rukh Khan
After Arjun Rampal’s name cropped up in the alleged Bollywood-drug nexus, reports emerged suggesting that Arjun Rampal allegedly supplied drugs to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. A report published by Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar quoted a NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) officer informing them that top Bollywood actors under probe for drug abuse whose names start with ‘A’, ‘D’ and ‘S’ are Arjun Rampal, Dino Morea and Shah Rukh Khan respectively. Citing the NCB officer, Bhaskar report stated that the drug peddler source told them that Arjun Rampal would take drugs to Shah Rukh Khan’s house.
Prior to this big Bollywood names like Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh and Deepika’s manager Karishma Prakash have emerged in the Bollywood-drug nexus. LAst month, during the interrogation, the NCB officials had confronted Deepika Padukone with the digital evidence gathered from Jaya Saha’s phone that showed the actor’s chats about procuring ‘maal’ for her. However, as per a report, Deepika had claimed that by ‘Maal’ she meant cigarettes and ‘Hash’ referred to the different brands of cigarettes.