On May 26, a Mumbai-based Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) squad arrested actor Siddharth Pithani from his Hyderabad home in connection with an alleged Bollywood drug syndicate. The arrest of Pithani, late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s roommate, comes nearly a year after Sushant’s reported suicide at their rented flat in Bandra, Mumbai, on June 14, 2020, which aroused suspicion. Pithani was the first person to report seeing Sushant hanging from the ceiling fan in his bedroom.
Siddharth Pithani’s Arrest
The NCB’s zonal director, Sameer Wankhede, says Pithani was labelled as absconding because he refused to cooperate with the inquiry after being served numerous notices. According to him, “The NCB Mumbai gathered intelligence on the whereabouts of the said accused who has been long absconding and fleeing from justice in Hyderabad. He was apprehended, his statement was recorded and he was duly arrested under section 27A, 28, 29 and 35 of NDPS Act, 1985.”
These sections cover the penalties for using narcotic drugs as well as attempting to commit offences of abetment and criminal conspiracy. Pithani’s laptop and phone have also been confiscated by the NCB. He has been detained in the custody of the NCB until June 1 by the chief metropolitan magistrate in Mumbai.
Pithani is the 34th individual to face charges in the alleged Bollywood drug syndicate that made news after Rajput’s death. The NCB has filed charges against 33 people, including actress Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik, who was Sushant’s previous live-in partner. They’re all out on bail.
The NCB has also summoned Neeraj and Keshav, the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s domestic helpers, for interrogation.
Drug Lord With Interest For Endangered Species Arrested
The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested suspected drug lord Harish Khan, who is related to drug dealer Parvez Khan alias Chintu Khan, a close ally of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. While Harish has been detained in another narcotics case, his connection to the SSR drugs case will also be investigated, according to NCB’s Sameer Wankhede.
Surprisingly, Harish does not appear to be a typical drug lord, but rather a man who has a strong enthusiasm and fascination for weird/strange things. When the NCB apprehended him in Mumbai, the team not only seized narcotics and money from his home, but also endangered snake species and rare weapons.