'Drugs nexus': Comedian Bharti Singh faces raid, detained for grilling

Comedian Bharti Singh is the latest addition to the list of Hindi entertainment industry personalities accused of taking drugs.

The anti-drugs agency, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) conducted raids at the comedian’s Mumbai residence on Saturday morning, during which they recovered a small quantity of cannabis, an official said. Later, the agency detained her and husband Harsh Limbachiyaa for questioning about alleged possession of banned substances.

“She and her husband both have been detained for questioning by NCB about possession of narcotics substances,” said Sameer Wankhede, Zonal Director, NCB Office, Mumbai.

Bharti’s name had cropped up during the interrogation of a drug peddler, said an official, adding that the agency is also carrying out searches at two other locations in Mumbai.

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Bharti Singh has appeared in many comedy and reality shows on TV. She has also hosted a few such shows. The raid at her house does not come as a shocker as the NCB has been conducting searches at residences of people associated with the industry, even including big names like that of Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal and film producer Firoz Nadiawala.

The raids began after an alleged “Bollywood-drugs nexus” came to the fore during the drug probe related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in June. During the drugs investigation eminent actors including Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, and Sara Ali Khan were also called for questioning by the NCB.

Actor Rhea Chakraborty, the girlfriend of Rajput, was arrested on September 9 on charges of procuring drugs for the deceased actor but was later released, while her brother Showik continues to languish in jail.