Sushant Singh Rajput passed away on June 14. (Photo: Sushant Singh Rajput/Facebook)With CBI taking over Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case last week, the investigation now revolves around the late actor’s former partner Rhea Chakraborty and her family. The CBI has registered a case against Rhea and others.
The case came after Sushant’s father KK Singh lodged an FIR in Patna last month against the actor and her family members alleging abetment of suicide.
The FIR filed by Patna police invokes IPC Sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (criminal breach of trust) 506 (criminal intimidation),120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating).
Simultaneously, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Rhea Chakraborty in connection with the money laundering case based on the FIR. So far, Rhea, her brother Showik Chakraborty, Sushant’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani, his former business manager Shruti Modi and sister Mitu Singh have been called for questioning by the ED.
The Bihar government, in its written submission in the Supreme Court filed through its lawyer Keshav Mohan, said: "It is apparent that it is on account of political pressure in the State of Maharashtra that neither the FIR has been registered by the Mumbai Police nor did they extend any cooperation to Bihar Police in discharging their obligation to conduct investigation expeditiously."
The submission, settled by senior advocate Mainder Singh, said that nothing further is called for in the present Transfer Petition of Rhea and it deserved to be rejected or disposed of. "In the facts and circumstances of the present case, it is humbly submitted that no impediment would deserve to be allowed to come in the way of CBI to undertake and complete the investigation expeditiously," the Bihar government said.
Actor Sooraj Pancholi and parents of Disha Salian, who had briefly worked with Sushant Singh Rajput, have filed separate complaints with the Mumbai Police against small-time actor Puneet Vashisht, accusing him of posting defamatory content on his Facebook account in light of Disha and Sushant's deaths.
In his complaint filed on Friday, Sooraj has reproduced a June 30 Facebook post of Puneet, in which he has linked the actor to the two suicides that took place in June. In the post, Puneet has mentioned defamatory things about Sooraj, Disha and a few other Bollywood actors.
On July 2, Puneet edited the post and added “forwarded” before it, indicating that it was sent by someone else, said police. The post can still be seen on his account and has been shared multiple times. In his complaint, Sooraj has said in the first week of July, his friends informed him about the post. “Mischievous stories are planted in social media by Mr Puneet Vashisht and larger organised crime syndicate,” it read.
Bihar government, in its written submission in the Supreme Court filed through advocate Keshav Mohan, said, "No impediment would deserve to be allowed to come in the way of CBI to undertake and complete the investigation expeditiously."
In her written submisssion in the Supreme Court in her case, Rhea Chakraborty has said that the transfer of the probe into Sushant Singh Rajput's deaht to CBI at the behest of Bihar police was without jusrisdiction.
After questioning actor Rhea Chakraborty for almost 18 hours, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is now examining cash withdrawals made from Sushant Singh Rajput’s accounts over the last one year as the agency has not found any “substantial direct transfers” from the late actor’s account to Chakraborty or her family members, sources familiar with the case told The Indian Express.
These withdrawals amount to Rs 55 lakh and are from Rajput’s primary account with Kotak Bank. Sources said the agency is tracking the trail of these withdrawals. His account had about Rs 15 crore at the beginning of the last financial year and was used to make tax and travel-related payments, among other things, sources said. The agency found that Rhea Chakraborty is not a joint account holder in any of Rajput’s bank accounts.
Actor Sooraj Pancholi, in his police complaint filed over being linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death, has said he is being defamed on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. “We have received an application from Sooraj Pancholi and an enquiry is on,” Versova police station’s senior inspector Raghvendra Thakur said.
So far, no offence has been registered, the official said. There were recently some social media messages, screenshots and derogatory content allegedly linking Pancholi to the death of Rajput and the latter’s former manager Disha Salian. Pancholi’s mother Zarina Wahab earlier denied rumours linking her son with Rajput’s death.
Fans want late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s wax statue installed at London’s Madame Tussauds. A fan Basundhara Ghosh has started a petition on change.org for the same. So far, over 41,000 people have signed the petition.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said he doesn't give importance to his grandnephew Parth Pawar's request for a CBI enquiry into Sushant Singh Rajput's death. Parth Pawar had written to Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh seeking the CBI probe.
"I do not give a dime to what he has to say. He is immature. I have clearly said that I have 100 per cent trust in the Maharashtra Police and the Mumbai Police. But if someone still wants a CBI probe into it, then there is no reason to oppose that too," Sharad Pawar said after a meeting with Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut.
The NCP chief also said that on his visit to Maharashtra's Satara district, a farmer told him that he was suprised media was discussing Sushant Singh Rajput's death extensively but didn't care about the suicide by farmers. "
The NCP chief said that he had recently been to Satara where a farmer expressed surprise to him on the discussion in the media over Rajputs death. "He (the farmer) said 20 farmers committed suicide in Satara, but it was not even noted by media. So, I know what are the sentiments of the common people, Pawar said.
The post mortem report of Disha Salian, who briefly worked with Sushant Singh Rajput, and who died of suicide six days before the actor’s suicide — says her death was caused by injuries sustained due to a fall and there was no evidence of sexual assault.
The Indian Express accessed the report and detailed post mortem notes prepared by Bhagwati hospital in Borivali where Salian’s body was taken after the incident. The report says she died of “antemortem injuries” sustained due to a fall from the 12th floor where she was attending a get-together with friends that evening.
Incidentally, former Maharashtra Chief Minister M Narayan Rane, a BJP leader from Konkan and a former member of the Shiv Sena, had alleged that Salian had been “raped and murdered” and that the state government was trying to save “one of the young ministers.”
Also Read Disha Salian post mortem report rebuts Rane’s claim: no sexual assault