Sujit Mahamulkar (THE TIMES OF INDIA; August 5, 2020)

Mumbai: Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday refuted all allegations linking him to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, calling it an attempt to malign him and his family by people who “are not being able to digest the success and popularity of the Maharashtra government”. His statement came in response to some claims on social media that a prominent politician was seen entering the building where Sushant lived, and that a party was held at the actor’s flat a day before he died.

Issuing a public statement, Thackeray said, “I have nothing to do with the case, whatsoever.”

I have good relations with several Bollywood personalities and it is not a crime. Sushant’s death is unfortunate and shocking. However, Mumbai police is investigating the case in depth… those who do not trust the law are unnecessarily creating confusion and trying to mislead the probe,” said Thackeray, who is state tourism minister.

The Sena youth leader added, “As a grandson of Hindu hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray, I wish to say that I will not act in a manner that will harm the image of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena and Thackeray family. People who are levelling false allegations should understand this.” He said whoever has evidence should submit it to Mumbai police probing the matter. Thackeray’s reaction came in the wake of allegations from the opposition that the government was trying to derail the probe.

The Mumbai police chief had also clarified on Monday that no party was held at the actor’s apartment a day before he died and that CCTV footage showed that no prominent politician had visited the building in which the actor lived.

The slanging match over the handling of the probe into Sushant’s death peaked after Bihar police sent a team to Mumbai but was denied access to case papers. A senior IPS officer from Patna was kept in quarantine. The action brought reactions including from former CM Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta who said on Twitter that she was “feeling unsafe in Maharashtra”.

Earlier in the day, Anil Parab, minister for transport, alleged the opposition had hatched a conspiracy to malign Aaditya’s image by linking his name to the Sushant case. Parab said, “These are old tricks… attempts were also made to malign PM Narendra Modi’s image… allegations were levelled against union home minister Amit Shah in the judge BH Loya case. However, finally they came out clean.”