ED summons Jaya Saha in SSR case to probe drug angle

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday summoned talent manager Jaya Saha in connection to the money laundering probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

A senior ED official said that Saha, who was questioned earlier by the financial probe agency, has been asked to appear again.

Saha was consultant at Kwann Talent Agency, and was also the talent manager for Sushant's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.

The ED source said that the financial probe agency wants to question her about the drug angle, that has come up after one of Saha's conversation with Rhea got leaked.

The ED has also sought the help of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to investigate into the drug angle. According to ED sources, Rhea's WhatsApp chats and a discussion about 'hard drugs' and 'MDMA' came to the fore over the last few days.

The ED probing money laundering charges against Rhea and others, has already seized the actress' phones and electronic devices.

The source said that the revelations about the drug angle came after the electronic devices including mobile phones was probed by the ED. The source said that the ED has shared its findings with the CBI and NCB.

However, Rhea's lawyer Satish Maneshinde in a statement has refuted the drug angle and claimed that the Rhea has never consumed drugs in her life and she is ready for any blood test.

Even Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kirti has called the alleged drug chat of Rhea Chakraborty a criminal offence and wants action to be taken against the actress.

"This is a CRIMINAL OFFENSE!! An immediate action should be taken by CBI on this. #RheaDrugsChat," wrote Shweta on her unverified Twitter account. She also shared the clip of a news report that declared: "Sushant was administered something without his knowledge. That ultimately led to his death: Sushant Singh's family lawyer," she said in a tweet.

The ED registered the money laundering on July 31 on the basis of the Patna Police FIR after Sushant's father K.K. Singh filed a complaint. Singh alleged that Rs 15 crore was transacted to unknown bank accounts from Sushant's Kotak Mahindra bank account.

The ED has recorded the statements of Rhea, her father Indrajit, her brother Showik, her manager Shruti Modi and several others in the case.