I am innocent, subjected to witch-hunt: Rhea in bail plea

Actress Rhea Chakraborty arrested in a drugs case related to actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death has said in her bail plea filed in the Bombay High Court that she is innocent and NCB is deliberately trying to invoke stringent charges against her and her familyShe also said that she has been subjected to a witchhunt In her bail application filed in the HC on Tuesday Chakraborty said she is just 28 years of age and besides the probe by the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB she has been subjected to three more investigations by police and central agencies and a simultaneous media trialThese probes refer to the ones conducted into Rajputs death by the Mumbai Police the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI and the Enforcement Directorate ED Chakraborty said all of this has taken a severe toll on her mental health and well beingAny further custody will worsen her mental health she said in her plea filed through her counsel Satish Maneshinde Her bail plea was scheduled to be heard by a single bench presided over by Justice Sarang Kotwal on WednesdayDeepika Padukone likely to be summoned by NCB for questioning in drugs caseHowever since the High Court suspended the days hearings owing to heavy rains in the city the plea is likely to be heard on Thursday Chakraborty further said in her plea that Rajput had been in the habit of consuming drugs particularly ganja since even before she got into a relationship with himWhile she would sometimes procure drugs for him in small quantities and would also occasionally pay for them herself she was in no way a part of any drug syndicateShe also said Rajput was the only one who was consuming the said drugs The applicant Chakraborty is innocent and has not committed any crime whatsoever the plea saidShe also said in her plea that she has been subjected to a witchhunt and after the CBI and the ED failed to gather any evidence against her the NCB was brought in to somehow implicate her and her family Chakraborty has been booked by the NCB on several charges including financing illicit trafficking of drugs under Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance NDPS ActSection27 A brings along a bar on the grant of bail to an accused The actor said she has been wrongly booked under the NDPS Act Section 27A Besides since no drugs were seized from her possession and since the NCB has managed to seize only 59 grams of drugs from all accused persons the bar on grant of bail cannot be applied to her she said in the pleaThe actress said a bar on grant of bail can come into play only if the drugs seized are in commercial quantities Last week a similar argument was made by lawyers of Samuel Miranda and Dipesh Sawant coaccused in the case before a bench of Justice KotwalJustice Kotwal had then pointed out that a plain reading of the NDPS Act showed Section 27A could be imposed irrespective of the quantum of drugs recovered by the NCBHe had however directed Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh who represents the NCB in the high court to clarify the same on September 29 the next date of hearing on the bail pleas of Miranda and othersChakraborty said some others accused in the case had faced identical allegations but they had not been booked under the stringent Section 27A She also said that at best she can be accused of having procured drugs in small amounts for her boyfriendHowever she was trying her best to wean Rajput off his habit of consuming drugs the actress saidBesides if Rajput was alive today he would have been charged merely for consumption of drugs and would have invited a maximum sentence of just one year while she has been charged under sections imposing a maximum sentence of up to 20 years Chakraborty said in the pleaOn a similar argument last week on the other pleas Justice Kotwal pointed out that the NDPS Act adopts an empathetic approach towards the drug addict with view towards his rehabilitationHowever it aims at ending all illicit trafficking of drugs and therefore carries stringent punishment for those involved in procurement financing and production of drugs Earlier this montha special NDPS court in the city rejected the bail pleas of the actress and her brother ShowikChakraborty saying if let out on bail they might tamper with the evidence The actress is currently lodged in the Byculla womens prison in the cityRajput 34 was found hanging in his home in suburban Bandra on June 14Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or 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