ED continues questioning Gaurav Arya in SSR case

Mumbai, Sep 1 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday continued questioning Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya in connection with the money-laundering probe related to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

According to a senior ED official, Arya, the owner of Hotel Tamarind and Cafe Cotinga in Goa, once again appeared before the financial probe agency on Tuesday morning and is being questioned about his chats with Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea, where the two are allegedly discussing drugs. The ED official said Arya is also being probed about his financial dealings with Rhea and her brother Showik.The ED is recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED questioned Arya on Monday for the first time for more than seven hours. On Sunday, Arya claimed he had never met Sushant and he had met Rhea once in 2017. He also claimed he has no connection with the Sushant case.

Last week, after Arya’s name cropped up in a social media message, an ED team visited Hotel Tamarind in Anjuna, north Goa, but the property was shut owing to the Covid pandemic restrictions. The ED has till date questioned Rhea, her brother Showik, father Indrajit, Sushant’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani, house manager Samuel Miranda and Sushant’s ex-manager Shruti Modi, among others.

The ED has also recorded the statement of Sushant’s father K.K. Singh and his sisters Meetu Singh and Priyanka Singh.The ED had registered a case of money-laundering on July 31 on the basis of the Bihar Police FIR filed on the complaint of Sushant’s father. Besides the ED, Arya is also being investigated by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

–IANS

aks/ash