Almost after a month of judicial custody in Byculla jail, Bombay High Court on Wednesday has granted bail to actress Rhea Chakraborty on certain conditions. While the court has rejected the bail plea of her brother Showik Chakraborty and the alleged drug peddler Abdel Basit Parihar.
She has been granted bail on a personal bond worth Rs 1 lakh. The court has directed her to appear before the nearest police station for 10 days after her release and is restricted to leave the country. Single judge bench of Sarang V Kotwal has asked Rhea to submit her passport with the investigating agency and if she wants to leave Greater Mumbai, she must inform the investigation officer about that.
Counsel Satish Manishinde appearing for Rhea stated, “Truth and justice have prevailed and ultimately the submission on the facts and law have been accepted by Justice Sarang V Kotwal.”
He further added, “The arrest and custody of Rhea was totally unwarranted and beyond the reach of law. The hounding and witch hunt by three central agencies — CBI, NCB, and ED of Rhea should come to an end. We remain committed to truth. Satyamev Jayate.”
Sushant Singh Rajput’s cook Dipesh Sawant and domestic help Samuel Miranda have also been granted bail by Justice Kotwal on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each. They are asked to appear for the investigation whenever required.
Rhea was arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on September 8 in connection to the drug angle exposed during the investigation of her deceased boyfriend, Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case. Rhea’s bail plea was rejected by a special court and their custody was extended till October 20.
Rhea then approached Bombay High Court seeking bail and alleged a witch hunt against her by NCB at the instance of central agencies which have mandate in investigation of international ramifications but have found no evidence against her. In her bail application, Rhea also alleged that Showik and she used to procure drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput. She even stated that Sushant took advantage of those closest to him to sustain his drug habit.
NCB sought the rejection of her bail plea and argued that the accused are involved in crimes that are “worse than murder or culpable homicides”. The agency also contended that Rhea had procured drugs and concealed the late actor’s drug habit. Therefore, Section 27A of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act is applicable against them.
The central investigation agency CBI agrees to the forensic report submitted by AIIMS declaring it to be a suicide and not a murder. CBI has not found anything suspicious about the bank account details of the deceased actor which shows Rhea’s indulgence in the abetment of suicide for financial gains.
So now the agency’s major focus is to investigate the reasons which triggered the actor taking his own life: any role played by Chakraborty; professional rivalry and nepotism in Bollywood; effect of drug abuse and Rajput’s mental health.
