Drugs case: Sushant Singh Rajput’s friend held in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Nearly a year after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s mysterious death in his Mumbai flat, his friend and flatmate Siddharth Pithani was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Hyderabad on Wednesday in the drugs case.
In connection with a case (crime number 16/20) relating to drugs activity in Bollywood, a team of NCB, Mumbai, arrested Siddharth on May 26. Sushant was found dead on June 14, 2020.
Terming him as an ‘absconding accused,’ the NCB said Siddharth, despite serving summons and issuing a notice under section 67 of the NDPS Act, did not join the investigation. After gathering intelligence about the whereabouts of Siddharth, a National Institute of Design (NID) graduate and multimedia professional, the NCB Mumbai team along with Hyderabad unit colleagues raided his Kushaiguda flat on May 26.
The NCB team reached the flat in Dhana Varsha Arcade Apartments at around 11 am and conducted a search. At 5 pm, they took Siddharth and some electronic items, including his laptop and cellphones, to the NCB office. After recording his statement, he was arrested under various sections of the NDPS Act,1985. He was later produced before the court in Hyderabad.
The Hyderabad court granted his transit warrant and the accused was brought to Mumbai.
NCB filed chargesheet against 33 accused
He was produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate court in Mumbai on Friday. The court granted his custody to the NCB till June 1. Further investigation is under way,” said Sameer Wankhede, zonal director, NCB Mumbai.
The NCB has already filed a chargesheet against 33 accused in the drugs case, including actor Rhea Chakraborthy and her brother Showik Chakraborthy.
Meanwhile, Siddharth’s father Ramana Murthy along with a friend went to Mumbai to obtain a bail for him. Ramana Murthy said most of the people questioned in connection with the Sushant Rajput death case were arrested and all of them got bail. “Among those who were questioned, only Siddharth has not been arrested as he was not consuming or was in possession of any narcotic substances.
The NCB has arrested Siddharth now so as to avoid people raising questions,” he told TOI.
Denying his son’s involvement in any illegal activities, Murthy said: “We will start the bail proceedings on May 31.”
After completing his bachelor of design degree in film and video communication from NID, Ahmedabad, and working with audio visual production teams, Siddharth got into films. He even played a role in a Telugu movie ‘Chiru Godavalu’ in 2015. Ramana Murthy said: “Sushant Rajput liked my son’s work and contacted him to work for him. Along with several others, my son also stayed in the actor’s duplex flat. When Covid-19 cases were on a surge in Mumbai in 2020, I asked Siddharth to return to Hyderabad. He booked a ticket to Hyderabad on June 15 and on June 14, Sushant had ended his life,” Murthy recalled.
In July 2020, Siddharth returned to Hyderabad and set up his own company, Juxtafilms. Murthy runs a graphics designing company in the city.