Kshitij Prasad, executive producer of Dharma Productions, told the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court on Saturday that he had been repeatedly harassed and coerced into falsely implicating actors Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Dino Morea.
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Mr. Prasad was arrested on September 26 and remanded in the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody the next day till October 3. He was produced before the special judge Gaurav for remand by the NCB.
When the Judge asked if he had any complaint, Mr. Prasad went in the witness box and made the following statement, “Since September 27, I have been harassed and coerced into falsely implicating actors Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Dino Morea. I say that in the manner I am being mentally, emotionally and psychologically harassed and abused by the NCB”.
He has been remanded in judicial custody till October 6.
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Advocate Satish Maneshinde, for Mr Prasad, had told the court that his client was “harassed and blackmailed to make a statement apart from third degree and ill- treatment.” He also told the court that, “Kshitij was categorically informed by Sameer Wankhede [NCB officer], in the presence of several other officers, that since he was associated with Dharma Productions, they would let him off if he implicated either Karan Johar, Somel Mishra, Rakhi, Apoorva, Neeraj or Rahil, falsely alleging that they consumed drugs. Kshitij refused to comply with this despite the pressure being mounted on him as he did not know any of these people personally and did not wish to falsely implicate anyone.”