Comedian Bharti Singh, husband Haarsh granted bail in drugs case

Mumbai: Comedian Bharti Singh and her husband Harsh Limbachiyaa were granted bail by a metropolitan magistrate’s court on Monday. The couple was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) following the alleged seizure of ganja from their house.

The court had on Sunday directed that they be sent to judicial custody till December 4 and adjourned their bail plea to Monday. The NCB had claimed that Singh had told its officers that she consumed ganja procured by her husband. The NCB had said that a search operation at the Versova home of the couple had allegedly led them to a bag with 65 gram of ganja and another 21.5 gram of cannabis from another residence.

Through their lawyers Ayaz Khan and Zehra Charania, the two said that the quantity alleged to have been found with Singh and Limbachiyaa amounted to a very small quantity for personal consumption. It was argued that the recovery was lesser than the “small quantity” as prescribed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act making it a bailable offence. The court accepting the contention granted them bail on a personal bond of Rs 15,000 each.

While Bharti was arrested on Saturday, Haarsh was taken into custody on Sunday. The NCB told the Esplanade court that the two have confessed to consuming ganja. Singh is said to have told officers that she would smoke weed procured by her husband. Limbachiyaa said that he purchased ganja from one peddler and that he would keep one bag of the contraband at his office and another at his house for consumption.

Search operations were carried out at the couple’s properties following a tip-off. The NCB recovered a bag with 65 gram of ganja from Limbachiyaa’s production house in Versova. Later, another search was carried out at his residence, Oberoi Springs in Andheri, from where another bag consisting 21.5 gram of cannabis and unaccounted cash of Rs 1.49 lakh were seized.

NCB officials said they had recently arrested a 21-year-old man from Khar Danda area, who was allegedly involved in drug trafficking. During his interrogation, names of Singh and Limbachiyaa had come up, after which raids were carried out at their residence, said an NCB official.

Singh and Limbachiya have been booked under sections 20(b)(ii)(A) (involves small quantity of drugs) and 8(c) (possession of drugs) and 27 (consumption of drugs) of the NDPS Act.

Singh, who has appeared in several popular television comedy shows, currently hosts another comedy show named Khatra Khatra Khatra with her husband. (Indian Express)