Accused of 'Most Serious Crime', Bombay HC to hear Rhea Chakraborty's bail plea today

New Delhi, Sep 29: Bombay high court will hear the bail requests of actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik, who have been in jail for nearly three weeks on drugs-related charges linked to the Sushant Singh Rajput investigation today. Five more accused, including Sushant Singh Rajput's employees, are also seeking bail.

Rhea Chakraborty, who dated movie star Sushant Singh Rajput, was arrested on September 9 on charges of organising drugs for him.

On Monday, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) submitted a statement opposing bail for Rhea Chakraborty and her brother, saying they bought drugs not for their own use but to supply them to Sushant Singh Rajput, which is "a more serious offense" related to the funding of drugs.

"Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, this is the most serious crime," NCB officer Sameer Wankhede has said in his written submission.

The agency has also said that it has electronic evidence in the form of WhatsApp chats to prove that Rhea Chakraborty was involved in illegal funding of drugs. On September 9, the bureau had described the 28-year-old actor as an "active member of a drug syndicate".

In the previous bail hearing, Rhea had challenged the NCB's jurisdiction and had said that the CBI should take over since it was mandated by the Supreme Court to probe all aspects of the case. In response, the anti-drugs agency has said that it has the right to investigate the drugs case linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

According to reports, Rhea's bail plea alleges a witch-hunt by the NCB at the instance of three central agencies without any evidence. She also alleges that Sushant Singh Rajput "took advantage of those closest to him to sustain his drug habit" and that he "was the only consumer of drugs and that he was directing his staff members to procure his drugs".