Deepika, Sara, Shraddha deny even smoking cigarettes, let alone drug abuse

Actors have also denied having knowledge of Sushant Singh Rajput’s alleged drug addictions

Actors Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor and Rakul Singhwho after being questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), have denied substance abuse.

They said they were referring to hand-rolled cigarettes in their WhatsApp messages which mention the word “doob”, adding that they "don’t even smoke cigarettes,” the Times of India, quoted an NCB official as saying.

They have also refuted any knowledge of Sushant Singh Rajput’s alleged drug habit. The NCB officer said technical analysis of their mobile phones which were voluntarily surrendered will clear all doubts. Meanwhile, a former executive producer of Dharmatic Entertainment, owned by Karan Johar, told a magistrate’s court that he was “harassed” to make a statement that would implicate Johar.

His lawyer Satish Maneshinde alleged that the NCB had recorded his statement under duress and offered him a deal if he implicated Johar.

NCB has refuted the allegations. Kshitij Ravi Prasad, who was arrested in the case on Saturday, has been remanded to NCB’s custody till October 3. He’s among 20, including Rhea Chakraborty, who are in custody. An NCB official seeking Prasad’s remand said he was a key accused linked to the “drug syndicate” and was being uncooperative.

The remand application goes on to state that Prasad had taken delivery of ganja from Karamjeet alias Anand Singh and his associates Ankush Arneja and Kaizan Ibrahim, who are connected with Sushant’s manager Samuel Miranda and hence NCB needed his custodial interrogation to probe deeper into his role.

Maneshinde alleged that the NCB team was using intimidatory tactics to draw out a confession from him. He said they found nothing during a search of Prasad’s house “apart from the end bit of a stale and dry cigarette butt in the balcony but they suggested it was ganja and even drew up a panchnama to that effect despite his protests.”

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