Mumbai Court Denies Pre-Arrest Bail To Deepika Padukone's Former Manager

Deepika Padukone Manager: Mumbai special court on Thursday denied anticipatory bail to Karishma Prakash, who was the manager of actor Deepika Padukone, in the drug case.

The case in question is linked to the death of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Prakash had filed a pre-arrest bail plea before Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) court in October last year.

The Court also directs Karishma Prakash to visit NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) office for the purpose of investigation once a week - on 12th August and 19th August between 11-2 PM.

— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2021

Special Judge VV Widwans heard arguments from the defence and prosecution and rejected her plea on Thursday. The court has however stayed the order till August 25 which allows Karishma Prakash to file an application to Bombay High Court.

Karishma Prakash used to work at Kwan Talent Management firm with Jaya Shah, manager to Rhea Chakraborty. Sushant Singh Rajput's ex-manager Shruti Modi worked at the same firm, as per reports.

Prakash was first summoned by the NCB in September 2020 after some Whatsapp chats were revealed.

After the death of Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has been probing an alleged nexus of drug peddlers in Bollywood celebrities. The Central Bureau of Investigation is separately investigating Rajput's death.

Prakash's name came up when a drug peddler was interrogated after arrest. Actor Deepika Padukone was summoned for questioning by NCB in September last year. Padukone was interrogated for four hours and her mobile phone was also seized by the anti-drug agency.

At the time, Padukone was shooting for Shakun Batra's film in Goa. She came to Mumbai after the NCB summon. Her husband and actor Ranveer Singh had accompanied her to the agency office. As per reports, Singh has requested to accompany his wife as he said that Padukone suffers from anxiety and sometimes gets panic attacks.

Since the initiation of the probe into Sushant Singh Rajput's death last year, over 20 people have been arrested. Many of them, including Rajput's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, are currently on bail.