NCB says it won't take any 'coercive action' against Deepika Padukone's manager Karishma Prakash till her bail plea hearing

Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau told a court here on Tuesday that it will not take any “coercive action” against actor Deepika Padukone’s manager Karishma Prakash in the Bollywood-drugs case till 7 November. Fearing arrest after the NCB summoned her in the case, Prakash has filed an anticipatory bail plea. In its reply before the special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court, the central agency opposed Prakash’s pre-arrest bail plea. It also moved an application seeking her presence during the hearing. Prakash’s lawyer Abad Ponda said she was ready to cooperate with the investigation and to remain present at the NCB office. The prosecution assured the court that the NCB will not take any “coercive action” (such as arrest) against her till the next date of hearing. Judge G B Gurao adjourned the matter for hearing on 7 November. The NCB, which had questioned Prakash earlier in September, has summoned her again “to join the investigation” but she did not turn up. City police had said on Monday that Prakash was “ untraceable ”. According to NCB sources, Prakash was summoned again after the central agency allegedly seized 1.7 gm of hashish during a search at her residence here last month. The NCB, which is probing alleged nexus between drug peddlers and Bollywood celebrities which came to light after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide in June, had summoned Prakash on 28 October. The NCB has already recorded statements of Deepika and fellow actors Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor in the case.