Australian national discharged in drug case linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death

Paul Gerard Bartels, an Australian citizen arrested in connection with the investigation into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, has been acquitted by a special court. Bartels, 59, who was detained by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in November 2020, faced charges related to alleged involvement in a drug syndicate associated with Bollywood.

Special Judge Mahesh K. Jadhav ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove Bartels' involvement in the case. The NCB had claimed Bartels procured and consumed contraband, allegedly in connection with co-accused Agisilaos Demetriades, who was also linked to Rajput and actress Rhea Chakraborty. The prosecution cited WhatsApp chats as evidence of Bartels' alleged connections with drug peddlers.

However, Bartels' lawyer, Zehra Charnia, argued that no contraband was found during the NCB search of Bartels' residence, and there was no substantial evidence tying him to the co-accused. The court agreed, noting that none of the co-accused had named Bartels in their statements, and the WhatsApp chats did not prove his involvement.

The court concluded that the evidence presented was insufficient to frame charges against Bartels and discharged him from the case. The NCB's investigation into drug use in the Hindi film industry was part of a broader probe into the circumstances surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput's death in June 2020.