Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau has issued a notice to Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar over a viral video allegedly showing drugs being consumed at a party at his house last year, NCB sources said on Thursday.
The notice has been sent to Johar to check the video's veracity, an NCB official said.
The central agency is conducting an anti-drugs probe that began in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June this year.
The video, which also shows several top stars, is being investigated as part of NCB's probe, the official said.
The NCB had received a complaint regarding the video of a party, which was attended by top Bollywood stars last year, the official said.
The complaint was about movie stars apparently seen in a 'drugged' state in the video.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had sent the video to NCB and his complaint was marked to the agency's Mumbai zonal unit, the official said.
After the video went viral, Johar had issued a public statement in connection with that video, saying reports of drug consumption at his party were slanderous and malicious.
Also read: NCB again summons Arjun Rampal in drugs case
Meanwhile, reports have surfaced of a WhatsApp chat which appears to link Agisilaos Demetriades, the brother of Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal's girlfriend, Gabriella Demetriades, to the Bollywood drug case.
According to the WhatsApp chat Bollywood stars used to get drugs from abroad which were sourced from Agisilaos. According to an NCB official, Agisilaos was sent to a mobile forensic lab for questioning after being arrested in connection with the drugs case. The forensic team retrieved his WhatsApp chat, which led to the revelation.
NCB officials later learned that Agisilaos was linked to the International Drug Syndicate in contact with Colombian, South African, Australian, and South Korean drug peddlers. At the same time, the investigation also revealed that Agisilaos was in contact with several celebrities associated with the Bollywood industry. It said that he made a lot of money buying drugs from Australia, South Africa, and Colombia.
With inputs from agency
