Court orders unfreezing of Rhea Chakraborty's bank accounts, return of laptops, mobile phones

The court has also allowed the return of her laptop and mobile phone which were seized in connection with a drugs case

The actress had filed a plea in the special court requesting access to her bank accounts and electronic gadgets.

She will have to furnish an indemnity bond of Rs. 1 lakh for the return of her laptop and mobile phone.

The court has also directed Rhea to not discard or sell the phone and the laptop till the investigation in the case is over.

On Sept 8 last year, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had arrested Rhea among dozen others in connection over allegations of supplying drugs to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead in his Mumbai home on June 14.

Her bank accounts were frozen a few days later.

Advocate Nikhil Maneshinde, appearing on behalf of the actress, argued the matter would take time for disposal and it was not necessary to freeze the bank accounts till then.

Special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande, representing the anti-drugs agency, said the financial investigation in the case was going on and the probe could be hampered if the accounts were unfrozen.

Accepting Rhea's plea, the court said: "From the reply of the (NCB) officer, it appears that there is no strong objection from the respondent side for unfreezing the bank account and FDs (fixed deposits) of the applicant."

The probe into Sushant Singh Rajput's death, which started with a suicide angle, took twists over the past year.

The CBI had taken over the case after Rajput's father KK Singh accused the 29-year-old actress of mentally harassing his son, medicating him, and stealing money from him.

The actress had spent 28 days in jail while her brother Showik spent nearly three months before being granted bail.

The NCB  accused Rhea of being "an active member of a drugs syndicate" and that she had financed drugs for use by Rajput, who was her boyfriend.