The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to businessman Gaurav Arya in an alleged money laundering case against the associates of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The ED officials have asked Gaurav to be present before assistant director ED Rajiv Kumar on Monday, August 31, at 11 am in Mumbai. A case has been filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The notice to Arya was placed on the entrance of Hotel Tamarind in Anjuna village, which is owned by Gaurav. As the hotel was closed in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the officials placed the order at the hotel entrance.
Gaurav Arya – a hotelier by profession – owns Hotel Tamarind and Café Continga, both of which are shut due to the pandemic.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Wednesday had registered a case against late actor Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, Gaurav Arya, Jaya Saha, and Sushant’s co-manager Shruti Modi. The case has been registered under Sections 20 (b) 28, 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
Gaurav Arya, originally from the national capital area of New Delhi, is a prominent businessman who now owns two cafés along North Goa’s tourist belt of Anjuna and Vagator. He initially had a communication and advertising venture but later shifted to Goa somewhere around 2007.
According to reports, his brother owns a digital marketing agency, while his sister owns a designer women’s clothes brand.
Gaurav Arya, whose name was initially not involved within this ‘hyped’ case, has recently emerged after a drug angle reportedly opened up within the case. According to certain leaked messages, the names of Jaya Saha, Sushant Singh Rajput’s former talent manager, Samuel Miranda, Sushant’s manager, and Gaurav Arya have surfaced.
These messages allegedly indicated that Rhea used drugs – which she has clearly denied though. The Narcotics Control Bureau is now investigating the case also.
Gaurav Arya – who is supposedly prominent within Goa’s party scenario – has denied that he is in hiding and has said he is at his Goa residence. Moreover, he denied having any connections with Rhea recently, the last he claims was only three and half years ago, much before Rhea even met Sushant Singh Rajput.
Additionally, the ED officials refused to comment if there was any financial transaction between Arya and Rajput, or if the Goa-based hotelier had any financial transaction with Rhea.
Gaurav Arya’s lawyer has however rubbished all media claims of his client being involved in supplying drugs. He also claimed to have never met Sushant.
“I am being dragged into this case for no reason. I haven’t had any contact with Rhea in the past three years. My family is being gheraoed, I am getting death threats,” Arya told Times Now.
The entire issue around Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has become very hostile and conflict-ridden at several levels – between the two families, the Rajput’s and Rhea’s families, between the two-state governments, Bihar and Maharashtra, and between the ruling BJP and its former partner, Shiv Sena.
This entire situation has left India’s Bollywood industry split wide open; added with the upsetting reporting by several mainstream media outlets.
