In the widening drugs probe by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the agency has now issued summons to actress Deepika Padukone's manager Karishma Prakash into the alleged Bollywood-drug nexus. The summons have also been issued to Karishma’s employer, KWAN talent management agency's CEO Dhruv Chitgopekar, with NCB officials set to question them on Tuesday afternoon. Their names had reportedly surfaced as part of a wider drugs nexus in Bollywood during the NCB's investigation into the drugs angle in late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case. Sushant Singh's talent manager Jaya Saha, who was questioned by the NCB on Monday, had apparently divulged information about many notable individuals allegedly having an active role in the Bollywood-drug nexus.

Soon after, various reports emerged stating a WhatsApp chat from October 2017 between Deepika Padukone and her manager Karishma Prakash in which it is shown that the actress is asking for 'hash' otherwise known as the hashish drug. Both names - D for Deepika Padukone and K for Karishma Prakash - surfaced in the WhatsApp chat, with their conversation since being reported on Monday night has gone viral on social media. In the chat, a place named Koko is mentioned, which is a restaurant located in Mumbai's Kamala Mills area, while the identities of the persons named Amit and Shal are currently being investigated by the NCB.

The WhatsApp chat is from October 2017 and it goes like:

D: K...Maal you have?

K: I have but at home.. I am at Bandra...

K: I can ask Amit if you want

D: Yes!! Please

K: Amit has. He's carrying it

D: Hash na?

D: Not weed

K: What time are you coming to Koko

D: 11.30/12ish

D: Till what time is Shal there?

K: I think she said 11:30 because she needs to at the other place at 12

Soon after the news of the chat between Deepika Padukone and Karishma Prakash broke out, actress Kangana Ranaut took to her Twitter page to take a sly dig at Deepika Padukone, while sharing the news report that carried the drug chat on WhatsApp. She tweaked Deepika's messages on mental illness from before and tweeted, "Repeat after me, depression is a consequence of drug abuse. So called high society rich star children who claim to be classy and have a good upbringing ask their manager, 'MAAL HAI KYA?'. #boycottBollywoodDruggies #DeepikaPadukone".

Repeat after me, depression is a consequence of drug abuse. So called high society rich star children who claim to be classy and have a good upbringing ask their manager ,” MAAL HAI KYA?” #boycottBollywoodDruggies #DeepikaPadukone https://t.co/o9OZ7dUsfG

— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 21, 2020

Earlier, the NCB arrested 12 people for the drugs angle in Sushant Singh Rajput's death case, including the actor's girlfriend at the time of his passing, Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty. The 34-year-old Sushant died on June 14 due to apparent suicide by hanging himself at his sixth floor apartment in Bandra (West) in Mumbai.