Comedians Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau this weekend and sent to 14-day judicial custody by a special holiday court on Sunday.
The court refused to agree to the NCB’s demand in which they had asked for remand custody of the two actors and said that it was a simple case of consuming a small quantity of drugs, and therefore, no custody is required.
the court observed, “The drug seized from their residence is of a small quantity. Also, it’s a case of consumption only, hence police custody under such circumstances is not required.
Bharti and Haarsh have been sent to different prisons. While she’s in the Byculla women’s prison, her husband is at the Taloja jail.
comedian Raju Srivastava refused to believe the news when it came out initially.
He speaks to us, “I have worked with her in Comedy Circus, Raju Haazir Ho and Gangs of Haseepur, and many live shows too. Usko dekh ke kabhi nahi laga ki drugs leti hogi. I had attended her wedding too. I would get curious as to how her friends, like Sunil Grover, Krushna (Abhishek), could dance all night, not sleep, and then the next day again have fun and dance. I would think why don’t they feel the need to sleep, and yes I know they are younger than me maybe that’s why they have the energy. Lekin ab har cheez pe doubt jaa raha hai jabse news aayi hai.”
The 56-year-old adds that he dismissed her arrest initially as fake news, but when it was confirmed he was shocked and sad.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik slammed the agency by saying that it was targeting Bollywood and arresting the addicts instead of sending them to rehab.
While Bharti was arrested earlier, post a long interrogation on Sunday morning, the NCB arrested Harsh as well. The agency had seized small quantities of Ganja from their premises. On Sunday, the duo was produced before the holiday court in South Bombay and sent to judicial custody. “We had sought two days custody to understand how they purchased the drugs and how payments were made to the peddler, but the court refused it,” said advocate Atul Sarpande, who appeared for NCB.
