Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) told a court here Tuesday that it will not take any ‘coercive action’ against actor Deepika Padukone’s manager Karishma Prakash till November 7. The NCB has summoned Karishma Prakash in the drug case related to the Hindi film industry. Fearing arrest after the NCB summoned her in the case, Prakash has filed an anticipatory bail plea.
In its reply before the special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court, the central agency opposed Prakash’s pre-arrest bail plea. It also moved an application seeking her presence during the hearing.
Prakash’s lawyer Abad Ponda said she was ready to cooperate with the investigation. She will present herself at the NCB office, said Ponda.
The prosecution assured the court that the NCB will not take any ‘coercive action’ (such as arrest) against her till the next date of hearing. Judge GB Gurao adjourned the matter for hearing November 7.
The NCB, which had questioned Prakash earlier in September, has summoned her again ‘to join the investigation’. However, she has not turned up till date. City police had said Monday that Prakash was ‘untraceable’.
Also read: Summoned by NCB, Deepika Padukone’s manager Karishma Prakash remains ‘untraceable’
According to NCB sources, Prakash was summoned again after the central agency allegedly seized 1.7 gm of hashish during a search at her residence here last month. However, Prakash has claimed that the contraband was planted in her house.
The NCB is probing alleged nexus between drug peddlers and Bollywood celebrities. This nexus came came to light after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide in June. The NCB had summoned Prakash October 28.
The NCB has already recorded statements of Deepika. Her fellow actors Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor have also been questioned in the case.