Flatmate says he is under pressure to say Rs 15 crore siphoned off Sushant’s accounts
Vallabh Ozarkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 1, 2020)

Mumbai police’s investigations have revealed transactions worth only a few lakhs of rupees between the accounts of Sushant Singh Rajput and his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, which is nowhere near the Rs 15 crore reported “missing” from Sushant’s accounts in Bihar police’s FIR. A senior police officer, who is privy to the investigation in Sushant’s death by suicide, said there are no suspicious transactions from any of his accounts. “All the expenses are related to the rent he paid for his apartment, money spent on travel, hotel stays and renting a farmhouse in Lonavala,” he said.

And while on Friday the Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case based on the Bihar police’s FIR, the star’s chartered accountant Sandeep Sridhar endorsed the Mumbai police’s findings and said there were no big withdrawals or transfers from his client’s accounts. Sridhar said he has shared this information with the police. Sridhar said that to the best of his knowledge, no big sum is missing from any of the star’s accounts. “I have been handling his account from the last financial year. Whatever amount was there in the account is still there,” Shridhar said.

Sushant’s father Krishna Kishore Singh in his complaint against Rhea, members of her family and two others on charges of abetment to suicide, had alleged that of his son’s Rs 17 crore savings, Rs 15 crore were transferred to unknown accounts.

Meanwhile, creative designer and Sushant’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani has told the police that he is under pressure from the star’s family and lawyers to say that a sum of Rs 15 crore was siphoned off the star’s accounts.

Talking to Mumbai Mirror on Friday, Pithani said, while Sushant paid for all household expenses, he never heard of any big amount going missing from the actor’s account. “He never let Rhea pick up any bills. He was an old-fashioned boyfriend in that sense. And that is all I know,” he said.

Pithani said he got calls from Rajput’s relatives, a senior IPS officer, his sister Mitu Singh and a senior Supreme Court advocate seeking information regarding Rhea and her expenses when she lived-in with Sushant”. These calls, he said, were received on July 22. “I got scared and sent an email to the police informing about the same,” he said.

Contrary to the statements of Sushant’s family that Rhea controlled his medications, Pithani said he himself on several occasions gave the star his medicines. “I moved in with Sushant for the second time in January because he wanted to work with me on certain projects. After I moved in, I learnt that between October and December, Sushant was diagnosed with dengue and was subsequently put on medication for depression,” he said, adding that Sushant stopped taking the medicines in March after consulting his doctor.

Pithani said while he never saw Sushant and Rhea fight, the latter was visibly upset when she left the house on June 8. “Sushant’s sister Meetu moved in with us for three days after Rhea left and took care of Sushant. He would cry a lot. And then his former manager Disha Salian committed suicide. Sushant was very upset that he was linked with Disha’s suicide,” Pithani said.

Advocate Vikas Singh, who is representing Sushant’s father, said Pithani’s statements must be taken with a pinch of salt. “Till the other day, he was in touch with Sushant’s family and talking against Rhea. Now suddenly he is singing a different tune,” he said.

Repeating the charge that Rs 15 crore were moved out of Sushant’s accounts, Singh said: “This needs to be investigated. Where would Sushant spend such a large amount?” he asked.