NCB files charge sheet in Sushant Rajput case; Rhea named for supplying him drugs

News Network

March 5, 2021

Nearly nine months after Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his flat, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday filed its charge sheet in the case that involves the drug angle behind the mysterious death.

The accused in the case include his live-in partner and actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and his friend and assistant director Rishikesh Pawar, house manager Samuel Miranda and house help Dipesh Sawant.

They allegedly used the get drugs for the actor.

Sushant (34), who had acted in Bollywood films such as M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Kedarnath (2018) and Chhichhore (2019), was found dead on June 14 at his duplex flat in Mount Blanc building at Bandra here.

The Bandra police station in Mumbai registered an accidental death report (ADR) in the case, however, following the first information report (FIR) registered by the actor’s father Krishna Kishore Singh in Bihar and growing demand for a detailed probe and request by the Bihar government, the Supreme Court ordered a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

On August 19, the CBI formally took over the case and then the Enforcement Directorate (ED) joined in to probe the financial angle and NCB was roped in to investigate the drugs angle.

It needs to be mentioned here that the NCB has 180 days to file the charge sheet under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS).

There are two sets of cases that were registered by NCB – FIR 15/2020 and FIR 16/2020 – and there seems to be a common thread, according to the investigations conducted so far by the federal anti-drug agency. While 15/2020 deals with the drug angle vis-à-vis Sushant Singh Rajput case, 16/2020 involves a probe of the larger Bollywood-drug cartel nexus.

Over the last five-plus months, the NCB had gathered evidence through searches, narcotics seizures, data analysis, statements and technical investigation. WhatsApp chats of the suspects have also been analysed in detail.

The NCB has arrested around 30 persons during the investigations – which include drug suppliers, peddlers and couriers.

It needs to be mentioned that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government had come under fierce attack of the BJP and the social media over the investigations of the case.

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Chaos continues as IndiGo cancels more flights including 73 from Bengaluru airport

News Network

December 4,2025

Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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