MUMBAI • Indian police hauled in Bollywood megastar Deepika Padukone for questioning yesterday in an escalating drug investigation following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his apartment in June. This sparked a media frenzy which saw rolling news channels speculating that his former girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty drove him to kill himself with narcotics and even black magic.

Rajput's family disputed reports that he suffered from depression and openly accused Chakraborty, 28, of stealing his money and harassing him.

The actress, who denies any wrongdoing and who has been hounded for months by the media together with her family, was arrested this month over claims that she bought cannabis for Rajput. She was denied bail last week.

The saga has now morphed into a probe by the authorities into drug-taking within the multi-billion-dollar film industry.

The 34-year-old Padukone, who is one of Bollywood's biggest stars, was summoned earlier last week for questioning by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai, as were actresses Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh.

Singh's statement was recorded on Friday. Kapoor and Khan were also expected to appear before the NCB yesterday.

Earlier in the week, television channel Times Now broadcast sections of a WhatsApp conversation about procuring hash, alleging that the two people chatting were Padukone and her manager.

Director Karan Johar, who has also been a target of television channels and social media users since the death of Rajput, released a statement on Friday rejecting claims that drugs were consumed at a party that he hosted at his home last year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE