'Never consumed drugs': Actor Dia Mirza condemns 'frivolous' reporting

Actor Dia Mirza on Tuesday (September 22) refuted allegations of her purchasing and consuming narcotic or contraband substances.

These accusations came in the backdrop of a ‘Bollywood drug nexus’, which came to light after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.

In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday, Mirza condemned “frivolous” reportage that was “damaging her career”.

“I have never procured or consumed any narcotic or contraband substance of any form in my life. Such frivolous reporting has a direct impact on my reputation being besmirched and is causing damage to my career, which I have painstakingly built with years of hard work,” the actor said.

3) I have never procured or consumed any narcotic or contraband substances of any form in my life. I intend to pursue the full extent of legal remedies available to me as a law abiding citizen of India. Thanks to my supporters for standing by me.

Dia Mirza

— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) September 22, 2020

2) Such frivolous reporting has a direct impact on my reputation being besmirched and is causing damage to my career which I have painstakingly built with years of hard work. – Continued

— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) September 22, 2020

“I would like to strongly refute and categorically deny this news as being false, baseless and with mala fide intentions,” Mirza added.

1) I would like to strongly refute and categorically deny this news as being false, baseless and with mala fide intentions. – Continued

— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) September 22, 2020

Mirza’s name cropped up in reports after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) summoned actor Deepika Padukone’s manager Karishma Prakash and Dhurv Chitgopekar, CEO of a talent management agency, in connection with its probe into the Bollywood-drug nexus. Chitgopekar is the CEO of KWAN talent management agency while Prakash is employed with the agency.

These developments came amid an expanding probe into the drugs angle in the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, and actor Rhea Chakraborty’s role in it.

She was earlier accused by Rajput’s family of abetting his death, and was arrested recently by the NCB on charges of arranging drugs for Rajput. The NCB has so far arrested more than 12 people in the case.

Sources in the NCB told NDTV that she had named actors Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan after multiple days of questioning. The agency is likely to call them this week.

Chakraborty, who is currently lodged at Byculla Jail in Mumbai, has denied the NCB’s allegations that she is an active member of a “drug syndicate”.