It’s being alleged that Rhea Chakraborty is part of an international drug mafia, and has close links with Dawood Ibrahim. We know all this because, according to her now public chat history, she allegedly enquired about MDMA and marijuana. If you go by that logic, probably half of India has Dawood Ibrahim’s number on speed dial.
Of course, nothing in India is high crime, if it doesn’t involve Dawood Ibrahim. ABP News anchor said: “You saw drugs, you saw Dubai, now it is Dawood.” Yes, they were going for the three Ds of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Apparently, the late actor had gotten hold of Dawood Ibrahim’s secrets.
And his partner Rhea was the drug kingpin of Rajput’s life.
Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput death dominated TV news airtime for past 4 weeks, industry survey finds
Media: the fourth probe agency
While Rhea Chakraborty has been accused of practicing black magic, being a control freak and painted as the real-life Komolika, the character assassination of the Bollywood actor over the alleged use of drugs was led by Times Now’s Navika Kumar, based on some messages whose context, she thought, needn’t be provided.
Select portions from Chakraborty’s private chats, some dating back to 2017—when she wasn’t even in a relationship with Sushant Singh Rajput—were used to prove that she was ‘administering’ drugs to the late actor and boyfriend, in a well laid out plan to ultimately murder him.
Rajput, if you believe the news channels, was a genius, extremely intelligent astronomer engineer but also a naive, dumb eight-year-old boy, who was completely bewitched by Chakraborty, and did as she said without hesitation.
The misogyny directed at Chakraborty, especially by female anchors, is a new low even for India. I wonder if Navika Kumar would enter the newsroom with a jhola full of WhatsApp chats if Chakraborty’s allegations that Rajput was a regular marijuana user are proven tomorrow. This is Bollywood, you will hear tales of party drugs everywhere. Just get on with the programme. This is a no-brainer. But to read a giant mastermind in the WhatsApp chats of an emerging actor like Rhea is just plain ignorance. Who do we blame? Sources who hand out such trumped-up and wild conjectures masquerading as truth? Or journalists who just lap it all up unquestioningly and arrive at the studio with bagfull of so-called secret documents?
Also read: Rhea Chakraborty speaks out — ‘wasn’t living off Sushant’s money, we lived like a couple’
Marijuana consumption is common
But first, our TV channels don’t know much about celebrity lives, youth or drugs.
Times Now’s knowledge of today’s youth can be deciphered from their brilliant understanding of millennial lingo. They think ‘Imma bounce’ (I’ll leave now) has something to do with a bounced cheque.
So, if someone told them that marijuana consumption has been a part of our culture since vedic times, and that Delhi and Mumbai are among the top 10 cities with the highest consumption of cannabis, indicating its prevalence, or if they go through Vice India’s website, they might die of culture shock.
Cinema, they say, is the mirror of society. Filmmakers these days show their protagonists enjoying the occasional joint, pointing to its increasingly common use in India. Movies and shows such as Made in Heaven, Gully Boy, Go Goa Gone (a stoner comedy), Raman Raghav and Gangs of Wasseypur have shown characters from different demographics, consuming weed as casually as drinking whiskey. And yes, who can forget Zeenat Amaan erasing all her problems in Dum Maaro Dum?
There’s also a chat made public by the media, between Rhea Chakraborty and Talent Manager Jaya Shah, which hints at a conspiracy to mix CBD oil in someone’s chai (Rajput’s name doesn’t overtly appear). But how do we know she didn’t have Rajput’s consent before having this conversation, or when they finally took CBD oil? Also, why is CBD being portrayed as the most lethal drug on the planet? It isn’t even psychotropic. It is used for many purposes such as treating anxiety and depression. CBD does not get you high. It’s the THC content in marijuana that’s responsible for it. Here’s a link to buy this fully legal ‘lethal’ drug, in case you have been having troubles sleeping lately or have been feeling anxious. That of course comes with the rider that you have your doctor’s prescription.
CBD is also used as an alternative therapy to get anxiety and depression under control, which is what Rajput was seeking as revealed by Chakraborty. But inflammatory conspiracy theories are better for news business compared to a nuanced discussion on the late actor’s mental health or other important issues of gripping the country. So, anchors will obviously rubbish even the slightest possibility of Rajput being mentally ill.
If Rhea did possess, use or buy narcotics such as MDMA, she must be investigated and tried. If the Narcotics Control Bureau is able to get leads of names involved in a drug nexus and busts it, even better. But saying that Chakraborty was part of a syndicate for allegedly using drugs is preposterous.
Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput was right to hide his depression, India is no country for mental health
Vilification of drug users
Traditionally, use of drugs and drinks brings the ‘loose character’ tag. All spoilt brats in Saavdhan India and Gumrah are into drugs and eventually commit murders. Even in films and shows you’ll find that the villain is usually an alcohol-consuming, meat-eating ‘devil’ while the ‘hero’ is a saatvik brahmin-baniya.
Drug users are treated like criminals by our media and under the law. However, addicts, too, are like other people but with an illness. If someone consumes drugs, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad natured. In fact, some people are more inclined to drug abuse and addiction due to a function of past trauma and genetics, among other things. Elton John is a popular example of a recovered drug addict who found solace in always being high because he had a disturbed childhood.
Addiction is also a physical illness and doesn’t mean lack of conviction at all. Drugs supply your body with the happy hormone, dopamine. Once the brain starts functioning on higher dopamine levels, it views it as a necessity and gets addicted to it. Giving up drugs like Meth, Cocaine, opium, heroin usually requires external help because the withdrawal symptoms are violent. In the early days of lockdown, many alcoholics died by suicide because they couldn’t deal with withdrawals. You don’t usually overcome addiction with sheer ‘willpower’ alone.
While addicts require society’s support to get over their illness, society isolates them, further pushing them down the addiction path by stigmatising their problem.
The United Nations and World Health Organization have also called upon countries to consider decriminalisation of certain drugs. Countries such as Portugal have seen death rates due to overdose decline after decriminalisation. Experts have called upon successive governments to stop treating drug users like criminals, and help in their rehabilitation.
But our TV channels, at least, are just busy looking for Dawood anywhere and everywhere, and refuse to start a sensible debate. I don’t know what Bhubaneswar Gold is, but would really like to know what’s keeping our news channels high. Probably banning them from telecasting such content would help society recover from their ‘breaking news’ overdose.
Views are personal.
The number of negative comments here is overwhelming. The author is actually on point. Anybody who knows about student culture in any metro city knows how common drugs are. Such people also know what weed/hash costs. To say that Rhea was making money selling weed to SSR… Even going by the price of joints in Amsterdam (5 EUR = 400 Rs) per joint, it is indeed preposterous to think she does it for a living. India should learn from European countries and decriminalise drug use. SSR was clearly a user as are most people in the Bollywood industry and indeed many in the affluent metro city student community. This media trial is shameful.
The villain is a meat eating alcoholic and the hero is a satvik bania. In which film???
Right from the 70s there are so many films . The way you have glamorized and casualized consumption of drugs speaks volumes about your intellectual incapability also proves you are a third grade paid media house.
I fail to understand how on earth can any sane person justify someone who is “An active member of a drug syndicate” ; Accepted that everyone deserves a fair shot at justice including a convict but I ask you did Rhea not get a chance to present her views…she has been called upon so many times by the investigative agencies..everytime she resorts to lying , twisting of facts and slandering a dead man whom she claims to have loved..and now that she has been arrested on such grave charges do you expect the media and the people to worship her or treat her as a war hero..open your eyes 👀 the media just wanted to ask her some pertinent questions and she conveniently evaded all of that because she had no answers..so stop victimizing her..she is not this sweet little girl but a 28 year old sly conniving woman.
PR…..paid media
Paid for PR article to salvage the image
The article clearly describes how drug addicts are seen as criminal in the eyes of Indian media. Nobody wants to be a drug addict unless the situation arises. This is the reason why in judiciary they have seperate rehabilitation centres and not jails.Further I don’t think SSR was so weak that he was being forced to have drugs without his consent. CBI is investigating the case until then we should respect the judiciary and wait for the final verdict rather than blaming others without any trials.
The article clearly describes how drug addicts are seen as criminal in the eyes of Indian media. Nobody wants to be a drug addict unless the situation arises. This is the reason why in judiciary they have seperate rehabilitation centres and not jails.Further I don’t think SSR was so weak that he was being forced to have drugs without his consent. CBI is investigating the case until then we should respect the judiciary and wait for the final verdict rather than blaming others without any trials.
Paid Racist Idiotic Nasty Trustless
Yes that’s what the PRINT is
……
Let me get this straight.. Are you actually supporting an illegal activity.. It may be harmless, common place but it is illegal. You can start a petition to legalize or set worthwhile arguments in place. But by saying that those who defy law with evidence should be let go is going to set a dangerous precedent for society. Consuming substance is against the law till there is any change in the law. Period.
haa normalising drug use and blaming the victim …..Aboslutely shitty the PRINT
There’s no confusion. Drug addicts are criminals and as per the law buying and selling drugs or consuming them is a crime so addicts are criminals technically.
It’s high time the common people should stop wasting their hard earned money on Bollywood thash they dish out in the name of cinema.
And it’s high time people need to understand they don’t need these fakes to tell them what to buy, eat or drink as they don’t even personally use the products they endorsed. These guys only use imported things and drive imported brands and advertise Indian brands. It’s high time people wake up and stop being gullible. We should not be supporting movies which have suspicious funding and any one who works with people involved in illegal activity.
This article is confounding trend with ligality.
Just because many people are doing it makes it legal?
This writer is out of his senses. Does it ring a bell why he/she wants to peddle desensitizing drug use? You guessed it right.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_India
You are sick in mind and ofcourse that must have effected your body too. If SSR case cannot make you see truth nothing will – Print is sold anti india group – you are fast becoming irrelevant- or maybe already are.
Whitewashing drug addiction? Are you nuts? I think you have written this under influence.
I had some doubts, but now that Print is supporting Rhea, that means she is obviously guilty.
The very heading “ Indians…. is racist !! While condemning misogyny, you ended up being a racist bigot yourself. Drugs in any form or any purpose are not legalized in India. Anyone who sells it or consumes it is a criminal in the eyes of law. The article is in poor taste, it’s non factual and biased. Everyone is entitled to his/ her opinion but when you have journalists who possess such limited knowledge and no acumen for investigation or facts it’s worrisome. Please hire better journalists, irrespective of the opinion!
The very heading “ Indians…. is racist !! While condemning misogyny, you ended up being a racist bigot yourself. Drugs in any form or any purpose are not legalized in India. Anyone who sells it or consumes it is a criminal in the eyes of law. The article is in poor taste, it’s non factual and biased. Everyone is entitled to his/ her opinion but when you have journalists who possess such limited knowledge and no acumen for investigation or facts it’s worrisome. Please hire better journalists, irrespective of the opinion!
Sold out media house to Rhea’s PR. Just go and read Selling, buying, possessing, consuming … etc etc of Notified Drugs — whether it is done for commercial gain or out of addiction or for mere fun, is a ‘crime’.
Paid writer . ….go and tell your this bullshit story to NCB ….HUGE LAW BODIES LIKE ED and NCB booked the case againts rhea …and here what kind of story are you selling and making drugs dealing or consjmption so common are you in your sane before publishing this post?.
Selling, buying, possessing, consuming … etc etc of Notified Drugs — whether it is done for commercial gain or out of addiction or for mere fun, is a ‘crime’; hence, person committing such acts is a ‘criminal’.
Tracing, through such a person, the source(s) of these drugs is a Duty of the concerned Investigating & Enforcement Agencies. However, such possession etc must be ‘proved’, and such person’s body etc must be searched in the presence of a Gazetted Officer (unless this statutory right is voluntarily waived) and, moreso, ‘self-incriminating statements’ (whether obtained on camera — after 3rd-degree Custodial Torture, or through Narco-Analysis etc etc) are Constitutionally barred as ‘admissible evidence’; but other ‘evidence’ — discovered on the basis of such statements is admissible.
Similarly, statements recorded by Police (whether of Witnesses or of Accused) cannot be used by ‘Defence Lawyer’ unless it is first relied upon by the ‘Prosecution Lawyer’ — hence, leakage of such portions of Police Investigation to the Media is unlawful; and ‘Leading Questions’ etc cannot be asked while recording of Evidence during the Trial … etc etc. Thus, there are many more ‘procedural protections’ contained in the Constitution of India, Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. But ‘Media-Trial’ wrongfully throws all these protections out of the window. Hence, Media-Trial must be barred.
IF Media does find any evidence, it must submit it to the Court and ‘prove’ the same under the Law of Evidence.
I really want to recommend you to a doctor. A brain specialist. You know why? Your brain, your thoughts stink. I hope you don’t call yourself a Journalist.
Views are personal too 🙂
What a crap and nonsense article. They are generalising drugs as it is a everyday consumption commodity among normal people.Why they haven’t given the name of author? A paid article by a corrupt journalism group.
Print standards going down.
Irrelevant article
Irrelevant analogies.
Unsubscribing all my print accounts
This article is a perfect example of how to stoop to another level of low. I didn’t even read it full. You guys have provided the link as well to buy it and justifying the drug usage too. Were you guys born without brains?? This is pathetic piece of journalism.
To ruin someone from forcing drugs confining them and using their money is a crime. One has to think if it happened in their family what would they do! How will India become better when platforms are given to those who have engaged in criminal activity/destruction of human life.
Drugs are illigal in this country, last time i know doing illigal things makes you criminal, so your heading doesnt make sense.
You are right media is full of bevakoof Mishra’s ,Gupta’s ,Roy’s , dutts , kumars and Desai’s who want to bring Cocainia vinchi to power
Crime is crime
If a group of people are doing it and you are doing it too that doesn’t give you the license to do crime
They are criminals and should be arrested including you..
While you are busy calling out the “new low” for other Indian journalists, you do realise that you are highly condescending in saying that “indians confuse drug addicts with criminals”. Indians don’t. You think we do. Because you think you are the only brilliant ones. journalists play at both ends of the spectrum, not the general public. And going by the last few elections it is clear you journalists have no idea what indians think or how they think. Assuming by your article that you are liberal and so show some tolerance for other people’s work on the media as well.
I fully support the author, yes media is filled with the bekar guptas , the pannalal roy’s , the dehd dimmag Desai’s etc whose agenda is to destabilize india if there bosses are not in power. All they want is to bring there looter half national drug edict bosses to power and get Padma awards or rajya sabha seats as return gift.
A message for Subhangi Misra: Do not insult the intelligence of Indians. A message for Print: You expect us to pay for this kind of PR-paid rubbish journalism? I’d much rather feed street canines and bovines than pay for your bullcrap. #IAmSushant
Oh my God!! The print you could come up with something better, and not about saving an obvious criminal. Rhea has been lying from day 1. First she wants CBI and when there was news CBI might take over, she stated she will not co operate with CBI. And now When CBI is investigating she’s going crazy and its evident enough.. its more than eye meet. So please stop covering up the criminals and illegal activities.
This useless crap articles by the print will not divert justice for SSR. Boycott such nonsense articles
Definitely, Mr. Rajput wasn’t an eight year old naive person to rope himself up in a room, thinking that that should be his end to living. He was intelligent enough to sense the intricacies of the art industry when he decided to give it a shot. But, in personal life when “people are put around”, or drugged or poisoned, or are killed and tied nothing helps. Because, nobody is an MI6 agent or RAW agent loaded with intelligence and defensive skills as depicted in James Bond movies, because the drugs mafia has more coverage, purchasing ability and best of the brains to buy ” What they want including luring the politicians “, by offering sorties for making their inroads into destinations.
One knows, not the person exactly to pin point, but definitely if a thing is done by the European drug mafia or the Women Trafficking gangs of Vijayawada, and a vague understanding of who is the politician drawing faida out of one’s downfall being instigated by the foreign intelligence, and who are the (distant / blood) relatives or members of shameless communities, corrupt police lending their support causing the downfall of the targeted family and why they are being thrown out of life, or living – personal and professional, making them vulnerable,putting in “items” for sham marriage”s”..fake fellows addressing the targeted woman as prostitute,beating her to death,cutting off societal interaction, bad mouthing,projecting as mentally insane, forcing sale of properties or creating a need to save them on cutting off the basic job career status of the Target,deliberately cutting marks in exams and cross checking if the targeted person has “felt it” or now luring the head of the Institute to trickle down “theories” tarnishing the target……. That is mafia instigated… For trafficking, or/ and the drugs mafia trying to control the family “for their desired” selfish output with the support of “the power”.
I am surprised at people when they say drugs in India is not common thing. Well, so untrue!
Charas, Hasis & weeds.. On various trips from Gokarna to Goa, Manali to Kasol, I came across these words from soooo many guys very often. Forget about entertainment industry, many (not all) working class youngsters often go to ANY tourist destination in India for these illegal substances!
And what does it mean, why she deleted those chats! No one keeps these sort of chats to show anyone proudly! Come on, stupidity!
Rhea is new “dartboard with face” in India so she is in trouble to be true! Yeah, but illegal means illegal.
Thank you for being the voice of rationality . Ignore the comments targeting you , they are mostly ignorant comments from people who are brainwashed by the media and they think its too late to accept they are being fooled .