NCB probe: Absconding accused held; Rs 2.5 cr drugs seized

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested one Regel Mahakal, who was absconding in a drugs case related to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, in Mumbai on Wednesday. Mahakal will be produced before a court later in the day.

Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau has arrested an absconding accused in a drugs case linked to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death and also seized contraband worth Rs 2.5 crore during raids in Mumbai, an NCB official said on Wednesday.

The NCB official claimed it is the "biggest seizure" of drugs in the case linked to Rajput's death.

The accused, identified as Regel Mahakal, was arrested late Tuesday night after raids in some areas of Mumbai, including Lokhandwala, by an NCB team led by the probe agency's zonal director Sameer Wankhede, the official said.

A contraband, 'Malana cream', worth Rs 2.5 crore was seized during the raids, he said, adding that raids are still going on.

One more person was also arrested during the raids, the official said without divulging further details.

Mahakal's name had cropped up during questioning of some drugs peddlers in the case.

He allegedly used to supply drugs to Anuj Keshwani, also an accused in the case who was arrested in September this year, who was supplying it to others, he said.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his home in Bandra area here in June this year.

The NCB has been probing the alleged use in some quarters of Bollywood after the death of Rajput on the basis of some WhatsApp chats involving drugs.

The central agency had earlier arrested Rajput's girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, some staff members of Rajput and a few others under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Rhea Chakraborty, her brother, and some other accused were later granted bail.

PTI