The accused in the Bollywood drug cartel case have been arguing that Section 27A, pertaining to financing drug supply and harbouring offenders, of the narcotics act does not apply to the case, next hearing scheduled for month-end
Showik Chakraborty (in black hoodie) and Dipesh Sawant (in green hoodie) with NCB officers earlier this month. Pic/Suresh Karkera
The Bombay High Court, while hearing the bail plea of three accused in connection with the alleged Bollywood drug cartel case on Friday, said that it will decide whether Section 27A (financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders) of the NDPS Act applies to the case.
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While the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had asked for one week's time to give a reply to the court, the next hearing has been set for September 29 and all accused will continue to be in judicial custody.
The court was hearing the bail pleas of deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput's house manager Samuel Miranda, house help Deepesh Sawant and alleged Bandra-based drug dealer Abdel Basit Parihar. The bail pleas were earlier rejected by the Killa Court and special NDPS Court citing Section 27A. The NDPS court had also said that the accused revealed the identities of several suspects and the accused might alert them if released.
Rahil Rahal Vishram, accused arrested by NCB on Friday
"We argued that Section 27A is not applicable in this entire case. The court has said it will decide its applicability. The NCB sought time to files its reply so the court adjourned the matter till September 29," said Rajendra Rathore, Sawant's lawyer.
The high court also observed that the bail applications raised important points of law which need to be heard extensively.
Another NCB arrest
On the other hand, the NCB arrested another alleged major drug supplier, Rahil Rahal Vishram, 42. He was apprehended from Yari Road, Versova. According to NCB sources, he is one of the main peddlers in Bollywood. "He has direct connections with our ongoing investigation. We are verifying the client list seized from him," said Sameer Wankhede, zonal director, NCB.
The NCB seized 928 grams of pure quality charas from Himachal Pradesh and R4,36,000 in cash. "This is very expensive and pure quality of charas, especially procured from Himachal Pradesh for high profile buyers," an NCB officer said.
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