The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday evening arrested assistant film director Rishikesh Pawar in connection with a drugs case linked to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, an official said. Pawar was detained by the NCB in the morning and he was arrested following questioning, the official said. Last month, the Mumbai sessions court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Rishikesh Pawar in the Sushant Singh Rajpur drugs case which is being probed by the NCB.
The name of Pawar, who was a friend of the late actor, had cropped up during interrogation of other accused arrested earlier in the case, said Sameer Wankhede, zonal director of the central agency. The NCB had earlier raided Pawar’s residence and seized some gadgets. Pawar allegedly procured drugs and supplied it to Sushant Singh Rajput for monetary benefit. One of Sushant’s staff members, Dipesh Sawant, named Pawar as one of the persons supplying drugs to the actor. Rajput was found hanging at his flat in suburban Bandra on June 14, 2020. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing Rajput’s death while the NCB is investigating the drugs angle related to the case. The NCB is also probing the alleged Bollywood-drugs nexus and had conducted multiple raids over the last few months. The central anti-drugs agency had also arrested a number of drug peddlers.
