In a significant motion, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday mentioned that it has arrested Sidharth Pitani, flatmate of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput in a drug associated case. “Pithani has been arrested from Hyderabad,” confirmed an NCB official.
The arrest comes almost two and half months after it filed a 12,000-page charge sheet against 33 people, including actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and others in the Bollywood-drugs mafia probe case linked to Sushant’s death.
On March 5, the NCB charge sheet was filed before a Mumbai Special NDPS Court, following two cases registered by the drug law enforcement agency after an intimation from the Enforcement Directorate which was probing the financial angles in Sushant’s death.The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Narcotics Control Bureau have questioned Pithani in the past. In fact, he was quizzed by the CBI for several days in a row in September, 2020.
Rajput’s body was found at his Bandra apartment on June 14, 2020.
Here’s the timeline of his death case:
Apr 20: The Delhi High Court has issued a notice on the petition filed by K.K. Singh, father of late Bollywood late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, seeking a ban on films inspired by the life of his son.
Mar 26: The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by Priyanka Singh, sister of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, challenging a Bombay High Court order refusing to quash the FIR filed against her by Mumbai Police following a complaint from actor Rhea Chakraborty.
Mar 8: Three persons, including one Hemant Sah alias Maharaj, who is allegedly linked to the drug probe launched following the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials in Goa.
Mar 5: In a significant development, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) filed a whopping nearly 12,000-paged charge sheet against 33 accused persons, including film actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and others in the Bollywood-drugs mafia probe case arising out of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Feb 10: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which registered a case related to drugs in connection with the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, dispelled the rumours that it is filing a charge sheet soon and said that many links are still being probed.
Feb 2: Taking ahead the investigation in the Bollywood-drugs mafia links angle in the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) grilled an assistant director who was a friend of the late actor.
Jan 18: In a significant verdict having ramifications on the Indian media, the Bombay High Court said that ‘media trial’ impacts investigations, violates laws, obstructs administration of justice besides amounting to a contempt of the court.
Jan 18: Soni Razdan feels Rhea Chakraborty was an innocent victim of twisted design. Razdan took to Twitter to support Rhea, who last year faced social ostracisation after the death of her actor-boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput.
Dec 1: Sushant Singh Rajput was the most searched personality of 2020 while Rhea Chakraborty was the most searched female celebrity, according to a yearend list released by the search engine Yahoo for India.
Nov 22: A Mumbai special court sent Bharti Singh and her husband Harsh Limbachiya, who were arrested in a drugs seizure and consumption case filed by the NCB, to judicial custody till December 4.
Nov 11: NCB questioned South African model Gabriella Demetriades for nearly six hours.
Nov 9: NCB raided the Bandra home of Arjun Rampal and summoned him for investigations. Filmmaker Firoz Nadiadwala recorded his statement with the agency.
Oct 19: NCB arrested the brother of actor Arjun Rampal’s girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades. According to NCB officials privy to the probe, the drug law enforcement agency has arrested Agisilaos Demetriades.
Oct 8: Hours after she was granted bail, Rhea Chakraborty walked out of the Byculla Jail, having spent 28 days in custody since her arrest on September 8.
Sept 25: A day after skipping the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh deposed before the drug law enforcement agency in a drug case related to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Sept 23: In a major development, the Narcotics Control Bureau summoned Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor and Rakul Preeet Singh for questioning in a drug-related case.
Sept 22: A Mumbai Special Court extended the judicial custody of Rhea Chakraborty till October 6. Shortly afterwards she and her brother Showik’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde moved the Bombay High Court for bail.
Sept 16: Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Shruti Modi appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the drugs related case.
Sept 8: The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested Rhea Chakraborty after a tough three-days of grilling to unravel the drugs nexus in the film industry.
Sept 7: Rhea filed police complaint against Priyanka Singh, sister of late Sushant Singh Rajput, for allegedly getting a bogus prescription for the actor to help him with his anxiety issue.
In the complaint, Rhea starts off by stating that she knew Sushant for many years, going on to share that they got close after attending a party in April 2019.
Sept 6: Rhea Chakraborty was allowed to leave the anti-narcotics agency’s office here after a gruelling six-hour-long session of questioning.
Sept 5: The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s personal staff Dipesh Sawant in a drug related case.
Sept 5: A Mumbai court sent Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik and Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda to four days’ NCB custody till September 9.
Sept 4: NCB arrested Rhea’s brother Showik and Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda as part of its probe into the drug angle in the Bollywood star’s death.
Sept 3: The CBI recorded the statements of Rhea Chakraborty’s father Indrajit Chakraborty and Cornerstone Sports and Entertainment Pvt Ltd CEO Bunty Sajdeh, who is the brother-in-law of Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma and Bollywood actor Sohail Khan.
Sept 2: ED summoned Varun Mathur, Sushant’s business partner, in connection with its money laundering probe.
Sept 1: The Enforcement Directorate continued questioning Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya in connection with the money-laundering probe related to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Aug 31: A team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) once again visited the flat of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, while another team continued grilling Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and Sushant’s former manager Shruti Modi.
Aug 30: Rhea Chakraborty questioned by the CBI’s Special Investigation for eight hours, on issues including the medical treatment and medicines administered to Sushant Singh Rajput and mention of drugs in her chats.
Aug 29: The CBI’s Special Investigation Team questioned Rhea Chakraborty for over seven hours.
Aug 28: ED officials summoned Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya in an investigation related to a money laundering case linked to deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.
Aug 28: Amid startling revelations in her media interviews, Rhea Chakraborty appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation for the first time.
Aug 27: The CBI summoned Showik for a grilling session.
Aug 27: Rhea Chakraborty requested Mumbai Police to provide protection to her and her family, saying there is threat to their lives.
Aug 27: KK Singh, in a video, said that Rhea Chakraborty was giving poison to his son and was his murderer.
Aug 26: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) registered an NDPS case against Rhea and two others on the basis of an ED request to probe the drug angle in the Sushant death case.
Aug 26: Kangana Ranaut has claimed that if the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) starts investigation, many A-listers could end up behind bars.
“If narcotics Control Bureau enters Bullywood, many A listers will be behind bars, if blood tests are conducted many shocking revelations will happen. Hope @PMOIndia under swatchh Bharat mission cleanses the gutter called Bullywood,” she tweeted.
Aug 26: ED summoned talent manager Jaya Saha in connection to the money laundering probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Aug 25: Widening its probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started questioning his chartered accountant Sandeep Sridhar along with his flatmate Siddharth Pithani and cook Neeraj Singh.
Aug 24: The CBI team visited the Cooper Hospital, where Sushant’s autopsy was done, to question the doctors concerned on various points even as it continued to quiz the actor’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani and his cook Neeraj Singh on the events before the actor was found dead.
Aug 24: The CBI team again questioned the actor’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani and his staff Neeraj Singh and once more at the Waterstone resort, where the Bollywood star stayed for two months.
Aug 23: The CBI team took the late actor’s personal staff back to his flat in Bandra for further questioning and to recreate the crime scene again.
Aug 22: The Special Investigation Team of the CBI probing reached the Bandra flat of the late actor, along with the forensic team and his flatmate Siddharth Pithani and cook Neeraj and others.
Aug 21: ED recorded the statement of Sushant’s sister Priyanka Singh in connection with its probe into the money laundering aspect in the matter.
Aug 19: ED summoned filmmaker Rumi Jafry for questioning.
Aug 19: The Supreme Court orders CBI inquiry into Sushant Singh Rajput Death case.
Aug 18: ED recorded the statement of KK Singh in connection with its probe into money laundering aspects of the Bollywood actor’s suicide.
Aug 15: ED questioned Sushant’s personal staff, including his domestic help, in connection with a money laundering case.
Aug 11: Former Manager Shruti Modi was questioned for the third time by the Enforcement Directorate.
Aug 11: Siddharth Pithani, who was Sushant’s flatmate, once again deposed before the ED.
Aug 10: Rhea Chakraborty moved a fresh plea in the Supreme Court, complaining that the media was unfairly holding a trial and pronouncing her guilty.
Aug 10: Rhea Chakraborty, Showik and Indrajit Chakraborty deposed before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money laundering probe.
Aug 9: Continuing its probe, ED grilled Showik Chakraborty for the second time in connection with their financial transactions.
Aug 7: ED questioned Rhea, Showik, her chartered accountant Ritesh Shah and her former manager Shruti Modi for over eight hours in connection with the money laundering probe.
Aug 6: The CBI has named Rhea, her father Indrajit Chakraborty, mother Sandhya Chakraborty, brother Showik Chkaraborty, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda, Shruti Modi and unknown others in its FIR. They were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including abetment of suicide, criminal conspiracy, wrongful restraint/confinement, theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and other offences.
Aug 5: ED summoned Samuel Miranda, the house manager of late actor, for questioning.
Aug 5: In a big development, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court that the Union of India in principle accepted the recommendation by Bihar government to order a CBI inquiry into the case.
Aug 4: The Bihar government recommended CBI inquiry into the death case.
Aug 4: With the BJP pointing a needle of suspicion at him, Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray broke his silence 50 days after Sushant’s death. He said he is a target of ‘mucky politics’.
Aug 4: In a sensational statement, former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane alleged that Sushant and his former manager Disha Salian were ‘murdered’.
Aug 3: An ED team reached the residence of Chartered Accountant Sandeep Sridhar, the long-time Chartered Accountant of Sushant.
Aug 3: Bihar Police IPS officer Vinay Tiwari quarantined by the BMC hours after he arrived in the city to expedite the investigation.
Aug 1: Sushant’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti penned an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to intervene in the case.
Aug 1: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray slammed the demands for a CBI probe by the Opposition and some Bollywood personalities.
July 31: In a video, actress Rhea Chakraborty addressed the allegations against her over the death of Sushant.
July 31: In a major development, the Enforcement Directorate filed a case of money laundering over transactions worth Rs 15 crore related to the alleged suicide of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
July 31: The Bihar Police recorded the statement of actress Ankita Lokhande.
July 30: Rhea told the Supreme Court that she has been falsely implicated in the FIR registered against her in Bihar by Sushant’s father.
July 30: The Enforcement Directorate swung into action, seeking details of the case from the Bihar police.
July 30: The Supreme Court declined to entertain a PIL seeking CBI probe into the death by suicide by actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
July 29: The Bihar Police team, which arrived in Mumbai to probe the death case, recorded the statement of Meetu Singh, sister of the late actor.
July 29: After Sushant’s father lodged an FIR against Rhea in Patna, the actress moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the investigation to Mumbai.
July 29: Sushant’s father KK Singh filed an FIR in the Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna accusing six people, including actress Rhea Chakraborty, for abetment to suicide.
July 28: Mumbai Police recorded the statement of Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Dharma Productions, the production house of Karan Johar, as part of their investigation in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
July 27: Mumbai Police recorded the statement of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt as part of their investigation.
July 24: Sushant’s last film Dil Bechaara released on Disney+ Hotstar.
July 22: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande and Shekhar Suman were among celebrities who joined fans to take part in the Candle4SSR online protest.
July 18: Mumbai Police recorded the statement of Yash Raj Films head Aditya Chopra as part of their investigation.
July 16: Rhea Chakraborty requested Home Minister Amit Shah for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the late actor’s death.
July 14: For the first time since Sushant’s demise, Rhea took to Instagram to express her state of mind and emotions through a moving note.
“Still struggling to face my emotions…an irreparable numbness in my heart. You are the one who made me believe in love, the power of it . You taught me how a simple mathematical equation can decipher the meaning of life and I promise you that I learnt from you every day. I will never come to terms with you not being here anymore,” she wrote on Instagram.
July 11: Mumbai Police recorded the statement of Salman Khan’s former manager Reshma Shetty in connection with the case.
July 6: Mumbai Police recorded the statement of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. As per reports, Bhansali approached Sushant for many of his films.
July 4: Sushant’s father KK Singh demanded CBI inquiry.
June 28: Casting director Shanoo Sharma questioned by the police in connection with the case.
June 25: BJP MP Roopa Ganguly demanded a CBI probe into the matter. She suspected foul play in the ongoing investigation.
June 25: Shekhar Suman tweeted, “We all will have to take a more belligerent stand and not be cowered down by the suicide narrative and whitewashed slanted theories. This time we won’t listen. This time we won’t be convinced.”
June 24: Mumbai Police obtained the ultimate postmortem report signed by a crew of 5 docs. “No struggle marks or external injuries” were found in the actor’s body, suggests his postmortem report.
June 22: Various political parties and organisations came forward demanding an investigation into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.
June 22: Lok Janshakti Party national president Chirag Paswan demanded a fair probe into the death case. He wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stating that the late actor was the pride of Bihar and the entire state is seeking justice for him.
June 19: In a new twist in the probe, the Mumbai Police sought details of contracts from Yash Raj Films for at least two movies Sushant had signed with them.
June 19: The demand for justice for the late actor spilled over from social media to the streets of Bihar. Leaders of the Jan Adhikar Students’ Council burnt the effigies of Bollywood actor Salman Khan and producer-director Karan Johar at Kargil Chowk in Patna.
June 18: Actress Rhea Chakraborty arrived at Bandra police station to record her statement in regards to the death case.
June 18: Sushant’s ashes were immersed in the holy river Ganga in his hometown Patna in Bihar. According to Sushant’s family, his ashes were immersed in the Ganga near Dighaghat in Patna, where his late mother’s ashes had also been immersed.
June 16: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey demanded a judicial probe into the case, alleging a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the actor’s death.
June 16: Sushant’s former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande visited the late actor’s residence in Bandra to meet his family. Ankita was in a relationship with Sushant for almost six years until 2016, and videos and pictures of the actress entering his were doing the rounds of social media.
June 15: Sushant’s last rites were concluded at Pawan Hans crematorium, Vile Parle. His father and two sisters arrived from the actor’s hometown Patna, while a few of his colleagues and friends from Bollywood and the television industry were also present.
June 15: Kangana Ranaut refuses to label Sushant as a “mentally weak” person. She said his deserving films and work were never acknowledged at award ceremonies. Kangana said: “He was a rank holder. How can his mind be weak? If you look at his last few posts, he is clearly saying, literally begging, ‘Watch my films. I have no Godfather. I will be taken out of the industry’. In his interviews, he had expressed why the industry wasn’t accepting him. So is there no foundation of this incident?”
June 15: Sushant’s brother-in-law O.P. Singh, who is the Additional Director General of Police and posted as Special Officer in the Haryana Chief Minister’s Office, suspected some foul play in the crime. He seeked a thorough probe into the incident.
June 14: Many political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and celebrities from all walks of life condoled the death of the actor. Modi tweeted, “Sushant Singh Rajput… a bright young actor gone too soon. He excelled on TV and in films. His rise in the world of entertainment inspired many and he leaves behind several memorable performances. Shocked by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and fans. Om Shanti.”
June 14: The actor’s physique was present in his condominium in Bandra on a Sunday morning and a home assist alerted the police. He was identified for his performances in movies like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Kedarnath and Chhichhore.
Read all of the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News right here
