Arjun Rampal appears before NCB for questioning in Bollywood drug case
Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal on Monday appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at its office in Mumbai for questioning in connection with a drug-related case. Earlier, Rampal had sought time till December 21 to appear before the NCB. He was summoned by the anti-drug agency to appear before it on December 16. Notably, Arjun Rampal was questioned by the NCB on November 13 in the matter. NCB officials had on November 9 conducted a raid at the residence of Arjun Rampal and seized some electronic gadgets.
Rampal, 47, was summoned last week, but he had written to the NCB seeking time till December 22, citing some 'personal' commitments. Besides Rampal, the NCB has questioned his South African girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades and her brother Agisialos Demetriades, who was arrested and later secured bail.
As the drug probe shifted the needle to the involvement of other foreign nationals, another of Rampal's friends, Australian Paul Bartel, was arrested last month.
Unravelling the Bollywood-drugs mafia links, the NCB has arrested more than two dozen people so far, including film personalities, drug peddlers, financers, suppliers, etc.
At one point during the probe, an NCB team was attacked on November 23 by some drug-peddlers in Goregaon and earlier in December, two NCB officials were suspended pending a probe into alleged 'lapses' into their conduct.
Several other prominent film personalities such as Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh, Bharti Singh, Harsh Limbachiya, besides some other industry professionals have been questioned, and last week, the NCB has issued summons to film-maker Karan Johar.
The NCB initiated the high-profile probe into the Bollywood drugs angle after the June 14 death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in Bandra, Mumbai.
Ranked as an A-lister, Rampal has acted in several films like "Om Shanti Om", "Rock On!", "Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat", "Raajneeti", "Housefull", and other blockbusters.
-With ANI, IANS inputs
