NCB arrests comedienne Bharti Singh, husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa

Comedienne Bharti Singh and her husband, Haarsh Limbachiyaa, were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after being brought in for questioning on Saturday after a long investigative raid at their house.

The couple's detention is the latest in the saga of the NCB's pursuit of an alleged drug mafia in the film industry and follows the questioning of actor Arjun Rampal and his girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades earlier this month.

The Indo-Asian News Service quoted Sameer Wankhade, zonal director of the NCB, as saying, "We have arrested Bharti Singh and found a little over 86 gm of marijuana from her. Her husband Harsh Limbachiyaa is currently being interrogated by NCB. We shall inform you of further developments."

The probe had earlier resulted in the detention of producer Firoz Nadiadwala's wife Shabana Saeed. Earlier, on 11 November, the NCB had summoned and questioned Rampal and Demetriades about some prescription drugs being found in their home. Demetriades's brother, Agisiloas, had earlier been arrested by the NCB for alleged possession of drugs. Australian national Paul Bartels, a friend of Agisiloas who was also arrested on a charge of supplying drugs to people in the film industry, was released on bail last week after a judge found little evidence against him.

The NCB's pursuit of the alleged drug mafia began in September after the Central Bureau of Investigation, probing actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death by suicide, allegedly found he was taking narcotic drugs. The NCB has since questioned several prominent names in the film industry, including actress Deepika Padukone, her manager, and actresses Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan. So far, however, the agency has only recovered tiny quantities of mild drugs in the course of its investigation.