Dhananjay Mahapatra (THE TIMES OF INDIA; August 11, 2020)

New Delhi: Actor Rhea Chakraborty told the Supreme Court on Monday that it could order a CBI probe into Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide, a stand she had taken earlier, reports Dhananjay Mahapatra.

While maintaining that the Bihar government illegally referred the Patna FIR for a probe by the CBI on the eve of the SC hearing on her transfer petition, 28-year-old Chakraborty, in her affidavit, said she had “no objection if the Supreme Court refers the matter to CBI by its order”. However, she said even if the CBI investigated the case, the jurisdiction would remain with a Mumbai court and not a Patna court.

After acceding to a CBI probe into Rajput’s alleged death by suicide, a stand she had taken earlier while requesting the home minister before moving a petition in the SC for transfer of an FIR lodged in Patna by Rajput’s father to Mumbai, Chakraborty said the case was heavily politicised by the Bihar government as the incident happened in the runup to assembly elections.

“The issue of Rajput’s suicide has been isolated and blown out of proportion... In case of Rajput’s death, the CM of Bihar is reported to be responsible for registration of the FIR in Patna,” she alleged.

Chakraborty said immediately after the “erroneous” transfer of the Patna FIR to the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate too started collateral investigations. Doubting the professional competence of both the CBI and the ED, Chakraborty said, “Investigation into financial scams of thousands of crores (of rupees) by ED and CBI never see the light of day and at the drop of a hat, cases get registered even without there being a jurisdiction in the foundational case.”

“Since the cause of action (Rajput’s suicide) occurred in Mumbai, Bihar police had no jurisdiction over the incident. Thus, the consent of Bihar under Section 6 of Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act is bad in law. Said consent is merely to render my transfer petition infructuous.” Since the foundation for initiating the CBI probe was illegal, the inquiry by the ED too would fall foul of the law, she added.

Bihar government, through standing counsel Keshav Mohan, has filed an affidavit arguing since Chakraborty and Rajput’s father wanted a CBI probe, the state had decided to refer the Patna FIR to the central agency and, hence, Chakraborty’s petition had become infructuous. Mohan said the state government recommended a CBI probe also because Mumbai police had not registered an FIR even after nearly two months.

Chakraborty complained of violation of her right to privacy because of intense media attention on the case. She said, “Media channels are examining and cross-examining all witnesses in the case. Petitioner is already convicted by the media even before foul play is established. Extreme trauma and infringement of privacy of the rights of the petitioner is caused due to constant sensationalisation of this case.”