Sushant Singh Rajput passed away on June 14.Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On Thursday, Sushant’s former girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik Chakraborty was questioned for the first time by CBI. And, Sushant’s flat-mate Siddharth Pithani was called for the seventh consecutive day for questioning.
Meanwhile, Rhea Chakraborty released a video where she showed how her family’s movement has been restricted by the constant presence of mediapersons at her doorstep. She said that she and her family are ready to cooperate with the investigation agencies but urged the Mumbai police to provide them protection. She wrote on Instagram, “There is a threat to my life and my family’s life.”
Apart from the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing a money-laundering angle into Sushant’s death, now the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has also registered an FIR against Rhea and some others under several sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The CBI took over the case from the Mumbai Police after the Supreme Court judgement in Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea’s plea to transfer the FIR in the case from Patna to Mumbai. Their team also visited Sushant’s flat to reconstruct the sequence of events before he was found dead on June 14.
In an indirect reference to Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty, Sushant Singh Rajput's family lawyer Vikas Singh on Friday said, "people in conflict with law should be barred from media publicity".
A leading news channel on Thursday did an interview with Chakraborty, accused of abetting actor Rajput's suicide, where she put forward her part of the story.
Post the interview, Singh tweeted, "I strongly believe that people in conflict with law should be barred from media publicity. It spoils their reputation if they are innocent and gives them undue visibility if they are guilty."
Dismissing the allegation that she was "living off Sushant Singh Rajput's money", Rhea Chakraborty said that Sushant liked to live like a star and spend money on everyone around him.
"I had a fashion shoot by the clothing trip Shein in Paris. The company sent me the tickets. Sushant thought it was a great idea to make a Euro trip out of this, so he cancelled those tickets -- I have those tickets, in case I now have to prove everything -- and booked first class tickets, and the rest of the trip he paid for the hotels. He wanted to, and I didn’t have a problem with that. I had a problem with how much he was spending. I thought it was a very expensive trip, but that was how he was.
"Who was I to question that? Even before this trip, he went to Thailand with six of his male friends. He booked a private jet for that trip and spent Rs 70 lakh. So, it was not like he spent the money just on me. He was like that as a person. He loved living like a star. I was not living off Sushant Singh Rajput's money. We were living like a couple," she said.
Reacting on Rhea Chakraborty's interview, Shekhar Suman wrote on Twitter, "Yday Rhea portrayed Sushant and his entire family in such a bad light while she tried to come across as a caring, loving, squeaky-clean GF, portraying Sushant as a drug addict, uncaring insensitive guy; also suggesting that the family is dysfunctional..deplorable."
In another tweet, he mocked Rhea as he wrote, "I must confess for a moment I was deceived by her performance and fell for her well-rehearsed emotionality..i got swayed by her tears and display of immaculate, manicured histrionics. Then suddenly Sushant came into my dreams and told me 'don't believe her'."
On Thursday, Rhea Chakraborty shared a video on Instagram that showed her father mobbed by mediapersons at the entrance of her home.
"Missing u immensely my soulmate @itsSSR; you will always be in my heart.... no words to describe the void," Sushant Singh Rajput's sister Meetu Singh wrote on Twitter as she remembered her late brother.
Sushant Singh Rajput's friend Mahesh Shetty posted a cryptic message on Instagram after Rhea Chakraborty's interview. He wrote, "People who are here can defend themselves and eventually the truth will prevail. But let's not lose our dignity and defame the departed.
In her interview to India Today Television, Rhea Chakraborty shared, "I wanted Sushant's family, his sisters to be involved in his mental health treatment. But they couldn't stand each other for more than a day. in Sushant's words, he didn't have a cordial relationship with his father since childhood. Sushant's father had left him and his mother when he was a child. I met Sushant in 2019 and then, Sushant had not met his father for five years."
Rhea Chakraborty told India Today she didn't hire any of Sushant Singh Rajput's staff, reacting to the allegation that she would often change his house staff. "This is a baseless allegation. I did not do anything to gain control over his life. He knew Siddharth Pithani before he knew me and used to live with him before I came. Samuel Miranda was hired by his sister, Priyanka. Even Keshav, Neeraj and Dipesh were with him before I met him. In fact, he introduced me to them. I did not hire them," Rhea said.
In her interview to Indian Today television, Rhea Chakraborty said that Sushant's former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande was in touch with the late actor until the release of her debut Bollywood film Manikarnika in 2019. Denying the claim, Ankita, who dated Sushant, stated, “1st of all from beginning till the end me and sushant were together about 23rd February 2016. He never had any conditions of depression and had visited any psychiatrist. He was totally fine.”
Clarifying it further, Ankita added, “Neither in any platform I have ever said that me and sushant were in touch with each other after our separation. Fact is what I have said while shooting for Manikarnika, Sushant has commented on one of my poster posted on a friend’s insta post. Mukesh Chabra, he just wished me luck for the project and in a courteous way I replied. So I deny Rhea’s claim that I have said we spoke on the phone.”
Also read | Ankita Lokhande: The time Sushant and I were together, he was never in depression
On Thursday, CBI questioned his girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik, the watchman of Sushant's bungalow, his roommate Siddharth Pithani and housekeeping staff at their camp office at the DRDO guesthouse through the day. The CBI questioned Showik about his relations with Sushant and the last time he had interacted with him, an officer said.
Also read | Sushant Singh Rajput death case: CBI questions Showik Chakraborty, father appears before ED
Rhea Chakraborty, in her interview, spoke about an incident in early 2020 when Sushant Singh Rajput visited his sister in Chandigarh but returned with 2-3 days. She implied that he probably did not want to be around them. To this, Shweta uploaded a screenshot of her tickets from US to India in January. She mentioned that she could not meet Sushant because, by the time she reached, he had already left Chandigarh “because of the constant pestering calls of Rhea and some work commitments.”
Shweta further tweeted, "You have guts to come on National Media and tarnish the image of my pure brother after his death!! You think God is not watching for what you have done! I believe in God and I have faith, now I really want to see what he will do to you. #Godiswithus #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput
Also read | Family was always there for Sushant: Shweta Singh Kirti
Rhea Chakraborty has reached DRDO guest house where CBI will question her regarding Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.
In her recent interview to India Today Television, Rhea Chakraborty claimed Sushant Singh Rajput's family was not there for him when he needed them the most. Countering her claim, Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kriti wrote on Twitter, "Family was always there standing rock solid for him!!" Accusing Rhea of "drugging" her brother, Shweta further wrote, “I wish Bhai would have never met that girl at all!! Drugging someone without his consent and then convincing him that you are not well, taking him to the psychiatrists… what level of manipulation is this!! How will you ever redeem your soul!!! You are so done!! #ArrestRheaNow”