Drug Charges Against PM Biopic Maker To Be Probed: Maharashtra Minister

Facing accusations from the BJP that it had "overlooked" charges of drug use surrounding actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death to protect those close to the state's ruling parties, the Maharashtra government on Saturday hit back.

State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said he will call for an investigation into the allegations against filmmaker Sandip Ssingh, best known for producing a biopic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the 2019 national elections, saying that he had received a lot of complaints about him.

"The CBI is going to investigate Sandip Ssingh, who had made the biopic on the Prime Minister - what relation does he have with the BJP. Similarly, what connection does he have with Bollywood and drugs - I've got many complaints about that too. We will forward these requests for investigation," Mr Deshmukh said.

The Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena and Mr Deshmukh's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had on Friday demanded that the "BJP angle" in the Sushant Singh Rajput case should be probed.

Amid allegations against the Maharashtra government that it was trying to scuttle the probe into Sushant Singh's death, state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant claimed that the CBI was going to question Sandip Ssingh over charges involving drugs.

"There is a definite BJP angle to it. CBI will investigate producer of PM Modi''s biopic in drug dealing. This is very serious... Is that why there was a hurry to bring in CBI into the probe. When there are several top producers in Bollywood, why was Sandip Ssingh chosen to helm the project?" Mr Sawant said.

"The Chief Minister, Home Minister should probe the nexus between Bollywood, drugs and BJP... The links between BJP and Bollywood is well known. Was the demand for CBI pursued to save somebody? Maharashtra government should probe this angle," he said.

State BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhaye rubbished Mr Sawant's demand and posted a link to a 2015 article which said Smita Thackeray, daughter-in-law of Bal Thackeray, was planning to produce a biopic on the late Shiv Sena supremo in association with Sandip Ssingh.

"Do your homework. Will you find a link in this too," Mr Upadhye asked.

Earlier this week, the Narcotics Control Bureau launched an investigation following fresh allegations in the Sushant Singh Rajput case linked to WhatsApp chats reportedly found on his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty's phone.

The 34-year-old actor was found dead on June 14 in his flat in suburban Bandra. The Supreme Court recently upheld the transfer of an FIR, filed by Sushant Singh's father in Patna against Ms Chakraborty and others for allegedly driving his son to suicide and cheating him financially, to the CBI.