No drug consumed at party: Karan Johar in reply to NCB notice

On 17 December, the Narcotics Control Bureau issued a notice to Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar over a viral video allegedly showing drugs being consumed at a party at his house in 2019.

The video which shows several other Bollywood actors is being investigated as part of the on-going agency’s probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June, this year.

According to NCB, the notice was sent to Johar to check the video’s veracity. “We have sought details about the video from Johar by 18 December,” he said.”His (Johar’s) representative can come (to NCB office) with the details or explanation about the video,” an NCB official said.

The NCB had received a complaint regarding the video of a party, which was attended by top Bollywood actors last year. The complaint was about movie actors apparently seen in a “drugged” state in the video.

In a public statement issued by Johar in Septemeber this year, the filmmaker said that reports of drug consumption at his party were slanderous and malicious.

“These slanderous and malicious statements, news articles and news clippings have unnecessarily subjected me, my family, and my colleagues, and Dharma Productions, to hatred, contempt and ridicule,” he said. “I would like to unequivocally once again state that I do not consume narcotics and I do not promote or encourage consumption of any such substance,” he added.

According to reports, in his response to the notice issued by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on 17 December, the filmmaker has claimed that no drug was consumed during a party at his house last year.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had sent the video to the NCB and his complaint was marked to the agency’s Mumbai zonal unit, NCB official told PTI.

Sirsa had claimed that he had registered a complaint about this video with the Mumbai police in August last year, but no probe was conducted.

Featured Image: DNA India