Sushant Singh Rajput death case: Gaurav Arya arrives in Mumbai to join probe in alleged drugs, money laundering angle

Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya whose name figured in WhatsApp chats of actress Rhea Chakraborty, arrived in Mumbai on Sunday to join the probe in the alleged drugs and money laundering angle in the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput case.

Though he declined to speak with the media in Mumbai, at Panaji, he said that he had no connection with the case and was being framed. "I did not know Sushant personally, nor had ever met him. I had met her (Rhea) in 2017... I have no connection whatsoever in the Sushant case," he said.

The owner of Hotel Tamarind and Cafe Cotinga in Goa, Arya will appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday morning. Later, he is also likely to be questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Narcotics Control Bureau teams in the city.

Last week, after his name cropped in the messages, an ED team visited the Hotel Tamarind in Anjuna, North Goa, but the property was shut owing to the COVID pandemic restrictions.

They pasted a notice on the hotel doors directing Arya to come and meet ED Assistant Director Rajiv Kumar on Monday (August 31) at 11 a.m., in connection with a case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The agency had on July 31 registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed by KK Singh, the late actor's father, against actor Rhea Chakraborty in Bihar on July 28. In his complaint, KK Singh had alleged that around Rs 15 crore was withdrawn from Sushant's bank account in the last one year and transferred to "accounts that had no link with him".

Meanwhile, Rhea Chakraborty's associate Samuel Miranda and Siddharth Pithani (actor Sushant Singh Rajput's friend) arrived at the DRDO guest house in Mumbai where the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing Sushant Singh Rajput's death case is staying.