Yesterday, Rhea Chakraborty appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the money laundering case filed in relation to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death on June 14. Rhea was grilled by the ED for over eight hours. Her brother Showik and her ex-manager Shruti Modi were also questioned by the ED. Here are the other developments in the case
BOMBAY TIMES (August 8, 2020)

- The Centre on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking to make itself a party to Rhea’s plea for transferring an FIR lodged against her in Patna to Mumbai, in connection with Sushant’s death.

- Rhea’s CDR (call data records) have been accessed. Some of that has come out in public domain, which showed that no calls were exchanged between Sushant and her between June 8 and June 14.

- Reportedly, six pages are missing from Sushant’s personal diary, which was found next to his body. Former Additional Solicitor General (ASG) and senior advocate Vikas Singh, who is representing the family of the late actor said, “According to me, that diary is very important because if he was writing every day about what was in his mind then if he has committed, then something must have been there as to why he has taken this step or if it was a murder, there would have been something regarding who in his life was the threat.”

- Singh also added that the electronic evidence would play a crucial role in the probe as now the reliance would be on the photographs taken from the scene of the crime and during the post mortem and apart from this the CDRs would also be helpful in forming the chain of evidence in the absence of physical evidence.

- Questions are being raised on Mumbai Police’s investigation on various grounds.

- According to the CDR, reportedly four calls and one SMS have been exchanged between Rhea and DCP Bandra Abhishek Trimukhe. Both were in contact from June 20 to July 18.
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Actor’s father and manager also questioned for more than eight hours over Rajput’s father’s allegations related to financial irregularities and control of his life for their own advantage
Abhishek Sharan (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 8, 2020)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday grilled Sushant Singh Rajput’s girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and two others for more than eight hours in connection with its probe into the money-laundering aspects of the Bollywood actor’s suicide on June 14 at his Bandra flat. The agency grilled the four people, who are all accused in the case, over allegations that as part of a criminal conspiracy led by Rhea, they had attempted to control Rajput’s life and finances, including bank accounts and credit cards, to their own financial advantage, agency sources said.

An ED source said Chakraborty strongly denied charges of any wrongdoing. According to the source, according to Chakraborty she/her family has an asset in the city, whose value could be around Rs 85 lakh, while bank loans worth Rs 60 lakh had been taken for the same.

Chakraborty, clad in a printed indigo kurta, white palazzo and with a white dupatta, arrived at ED’s south Mumbai office located at Ballard Estate, around noon with her brother Showik. She declined to make any comment to the media.

ED’s probe is based on a first information report (FIR) registered by Patna police’s Rajiv Nagar police station, on a complaint by Rajput’s father, Krishna Kishore Singh, wherein six people, including Chakraborty, a budding actor, are accused of criminal conspiracy, abetment to suicide, criminal breach of trust, theft and cheating. Apart from Chakraborty and Showik, her father, Indrajitm and her manager, Shruti Modi, also arrived at the ED office, and were asked for information and clarifications related to the case by the agency, according to sources. The accused have denied any wrongdoing. ED has called Showik and his father, Indrajit, on Monday again for further clarifications, sources said.

According to sources, ED asked Chakraborty to submit her income tax returns filings from April 2015 to March 2020, which she would submit through her legal team. The agency also asked her for details on her assets in Mumbai. According to sources, ED has received some property–related papers they had sought from the family. Chakraborty was also asked to furnish details on firms associated with her, which were owned by her or had her as a director/co-director, sources said. ED is verifying the circumstances under which Rajput, Chakraborty and Showik came together for business activities wherein two firms, Vividrage Rhealityx Pvt Ltd and Front India For World Foundation, are under the scanner. In both the firms, Sushant was a director. While Rhea was a director in one of the two firms, Showik was a director in both the firms. The two firms are based at a common address, located at A 503, sector 8, Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, where an ED team had already paid a visit for preliminary enquiry. ED is also verifying allegations that the accused had taken control of Rajput’s credit card/s, bank account/s and a laptop, the sources said.

Rajput’s father had alleged that up to Rs 15 crore had been siphoned off from his son’s accounts.

‘‘It was alleged by the deceased actor’s family that there were funds worth around Rs 17 crore in one of his bank accounts, 1011972***, from which around Rs 15 crore went to such accounts with which Rajput had no connection whatsoever,’’ a source said. ‘’It is being verified as to how much money came into Rajput’s accounts and credit cards and how much went out, to whom and for what purposes. The probe is in a preliminary stage,‘’ he said. Chakraborty and Showik left the ED office at around 9 pm, Indrajit and Modi left an hour earlier.

ED had earlier interrogated her alleged aide, house manager Samuel Miranda and Rajput’s chartered accountant, Sandeep Sridhar.

The agency had on Monday recorded the statement of Sridhar, on details related to the actor's financial activities, including his income/expenditure/investments and business forays via firms, over the past one year. Sridhar worked for the late actor over the past one year.

ED is looking into allegations that the accused had replaced Rajput’s employees with their own set of trusted/familiar employees, his credit cards and bank accounts were controlled by them.