Actor Arjun Rampal at NCB office for questioning; friend held

Mumbai, Nov. 13 (PTI): Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal is being questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday in connection with a drug case, while his friend has been arrested, an official said.

Rampal, who was initially summoned by the central agency on Wednesday, arrived at the NCB’s zonal office in Ballard Estate, South Mumbai, around 11.00 am.

The 47-year-old model-turned-actor is being questioned in connection with the case related to alleged drug use in the Hindi film industry, the official said.

In a related development, Rampal’s friend Paul Giyard, a foreign national, has been arrested by the NCB, he said.

Giyard was arrested on Thursday by the NCB team probing the case after his interrogation, the official said.

The actor’s partner Gabriella Demetriades was questioned by NCB officials for two consecutive days.

The apex drug law enforcement agency, which is probing the case for the last few months, had questioned her for almost six hours each on Wednesday and Thursday.

The NCB summoned Rampal and Demetriades after conducting a search at the actor’s residence in suburban Bandra on Monday.

The probe agency had seized electronic gadgets like laptops, mobile phones and tablets during the search and also questioned Rampal’s driver.

A day before the search at Rampal’s house, the NCB had arrested Bollywood producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s wife after ganja was allegedly found at their residence in suburban Juhu.

She was later granted bail by a city court.

The NCB launched the probe into alleged drug use in Bollywood after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June.

The central agency arrested Rajput’s girlfriend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and a few others under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Rhea and some other accused are currently out on bail.