Kshitij Prasad was referred to as up the NCB officers on Thursday.
Mumbai/ New Delhi:
Government producer Kshitij Prasad, who was arrested final week by the Narcotics Management Bureau in a widening medicine probe linked to Sushant Singh Rajput loss of life, was “harassed and blackmailed” by the officers of the anti-drugs probe company, his lawyer Satish Maneshinde informed a Mumbai courtroom on Sunday. Mr Prasad was “compelled to falsely implicate” filmmaker Karan Johar and his different high executives, the lawyer underlined.
“NCB officers stated they’d let me off if I implicated both Karan Johar, Somel Mishra, Rakhi, Apoorva, Neeraj or Rahil,” the lawyer quoted him as saying within the courtroom. The investigating officers “requested me to falsely allege that they consumed medicine,” he stated. “I refused to adjust to this regardless of the strain being mounted on me as I didn’t know any of those folks personally… and I didn’t want to falsely implicate anybody,” Mr Prasad was quoted as saying.
One of many investigating officers – Sameer Wankhede – has been named within the attorneys’ assertion. “Sameer Wankhede informed him (Kshitij Prasad) that since he didn’t need to cooperate, he would educate him a lesson and made him sit on the ground subsequent to his chair. Sameer Wankhede then put the shoe of his foot close to Kshitij’s face and proclaimed that this was his true aukad (standing),” the lawyer informed the courtroom, including that different officers round “laughed at this plight”.
The incident “severely traumatised Kshitij, who had by no means been in this sort of scenario earlier than. After over 48 hours in such custody, he was extraordinarily fatigued and shaken. He requested to talk with Sameer Wankhede alone and enquired if he had offended him,” Mr Maneshinde informed the courtroom, stressing that Mr Prasad “additionally reiterated that he would very very like to talk together with his lawyer or household”.
“Sameer Wankhede knowledgeable him that if he wished to be granted a name, he ought to signal the assertion they ready, which he might retract later. Kshitij was unaware of the legalities concerned and had by no means even come throughout this time period of ‘retraction of assertion’. On the finish of almost 50 hours of interrogation, humiliation and torment, Kshitij is his desperation to talk to his lawyer or household, unwillingly and underneath threats signed the assertion,” Mr Maneshinde stated.
Final week, Karan Johar had denied claims that Kshitij Prasad was related together with his agency – the Dharma Productions. Mr Prasad joined Dharmatic Leisure, an organization linked to Dharma Productions, in November 2019 as one of many government producers on contract foundation for a undertaking which ultimately didn’t materialise, Mr Johar had stated.
In an announcement, Satish Maneshinde on Sunday stated: “Kshitij Prasad was produced at present (Sunday) for remand earlier than the Ld Addl Chief Metropolitan Justice of the Peace by means of video convention. Earlier than the proceedings started, I knowledgeable the Justice of the Peace that Kshitij was harassed and blackmailed to make an announcement other than third diploma and in poor health therapy.”
Kshitij Prasad was referred to as up by the NCB officers on Thursday (September 24), when he was in Delhi; they wished to go looking his Mumbai residence. He returned to Mumbai the following day.
The NCB group “discovered nothing in the home other than the tip little bit of a stale and dry cigarette butt within the balcony”, and the group “started insisting it was a ganja joint”, his lawyer has stated. “Upon his spouse’s insistence , the phrase ‘believed’ to be a ganja joint was inserted within the panchnama (probe document),” his lawyer stated.
He was taken to the probe company’s workplace with two different buddies on Friday.
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