BOMBAY TIMES (August 4, 2020)

Over the past few weeks, the Mumbai Police has been under fire for the way it has been handling the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. And yesterday, presenting its side, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, in his brief to the media, said, “Ab tak 56 logo ki statements li gayi hain, experts ko consult kiya gaya hai, financial records dekhe gaye hain, unke joh gadgets the — laptop aur phone — usko examine kiya jaa raha hai. Ek bahut hi detailed aur professional investigation Mumbai Police ne aaj tak kiya hai, Bandra Police kar rahi hai.” He further added, “Various points like professional rivalry, financial distress, health-related issues — sab ko humne detail mein examine kiya hai.”

Sushant reportedly died by suicide on June 14 at his Bandra residence. Even as Mumbai Police continued with their investigation, the call for a CBI inquiry from the actor’s fans and some celebrities, like Shekhar Suman and Roopa Ganguly, got louder. On July 25, the Patna Police registered an FIR against Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and six others, based on a complaint filed by his father, K K Singh. A team from Patna Police reached Mumbai on July 27, while IPS officer Vinay Tiwari arrived in Mumbai on August 2 to take the investigation ahead, but is currently in quarantine.

Talking about the tussle over jurisdiction between Mumbai and Patna, the Mumbai Police chief said, “There is no question of noncooperation, we are legally examining whether they (Bihar police) have jurisdiction or not.”

Rhea Chakraborty was one of the 56 people questioned by the Mumbai Police. Singh said, “Her (Rhea) statement was recorded twice and she was called to the police station four-five times.” Here are some of the key points from the statement he made to the media:

‘Family did not raise any suspicion earlier, nor did they file a written complaint’
Singh said that Mumbai Police had recorded Sushant’s father (K K Singh), three sisters (Mitu, Nitu and Priyanka) and brother-in-law’s (Siddharth Tawar) statements on June 16. “Unhone bayan mein kisi ke upar shaq vyakt nahi kiya tha, suspicion kisi ke upar nahi dikaya tha. Ek do bayan mein aisa bhi aaya tha ke professional pressure ki wajah se aur joh unka treatment chal raha jis illness ke liye uss karan ho sakta hai unhone suicide ki ho.”

He further added, “We had tried to call them for further corroboration, too. His brother-in-law and sister later met our Joint Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, but they didn’t express any complaint then. Aur yeh jitni statements hui, parivaar ke sadasyon ki, uss samay unke jo doosre brother-in-law hai, joh Haryana mein varisht police officer hai, O P Singh, woh maujood the. Joh sabse pehli statement unhone (K K Singh) ne di thi woh Mumbai Police ko di thi. Aur joh first information hoti hai, usko bahut sanctity law attach karta hai.”

However, when Singh, was asked about Sushant’s father’s claim that he had complained to the Mumbai Police on February 25, expressing concerns about the actor’s well-being, Singh said, “Nahi, humein jaankari nahi hai kaunsi complaint hai...writing mein kaha hai.. humein copy vagairah denge to avashya hum uss angle se bhi…”

Alerted Mumbai Police in February that Sushant’s life is in danger: Sushant’s father
Responding to the Commissioner’s In a self-made video released yesterday, Sushant’s father K K Singh said, “25 February ko maine Bandra Police ko aagah kiya tha ki mere bete Sushant ki jaan ko khatra hai, parantu unhone kuchh nahi kiya. 14 June ko jab mere bete ki jaan chali gayi, toh humnein 25 February ko namik logon ke viruddh action lene ko kaha, parantu 40 din beet jaane ke baad bhi unhone koi karvahi nahi ki. Main Patna gaya aur apne thane mein FIR darj ki. Patna Police turant action mein aayi. Parantu mujrim ab bhaag rahe hai. Hum sabhi ko chahiye ke Patna Police ki madad karein.”

No written complaint was submitted: Mumbai Police
Following K K Singh’s video, Mumbai Police released a statement, which said, “Today, K K Singh, Father of late Sushant Singh Rajput, has released a statement saying that the family had made a written complaint to Bandra Police on 25th February. It must be clarified that no such written complaint has been addressed to Bandra Police station on that date. However, one O P Singh IPS, brother-in-law of late Shri Sushant Singh Rajput had sent some WhatsApp messages to the then DCP Zone 9 regarding the matter. The then DCP, Zone 9 had called Shri O P Singh and requested that a written complaint is mandatory for any enquiry or action. However, Mr Singh wanted this to be resolved informally, to which the then DCP Zone 9 clearly told him that it was not possible (sic).”

‘He googled words like painless death, bipolar disorder and his own name’
Sharing information about Sushant’s search history online, the Commissioner said, “Jitna humne examine kiya hai unka google history, ussme woh examine karte the painless death, bipolar disorder aur apne naam ko baar-baar search karte the.”

‘No evidence of misappropriation of funds right now’
Addressing the allegations of misappropriation of funds by Rhea Chakraborty, Singh said, “Sushant Singh Rajput had around Rs. 18 crore in his account, from that Rs. 4.5 crore are still in his account and FDs. Joh Rs. 13-14 crore kharcha hua, woh jitni jaankari dikhai deti hai, ussme aisa nahi lagta ke koi paisa Rhea Chakraborty ke account mein gaya tha. But we are looking at the details with the help of financial experts.”

No evidence of a party at Sushant’s residence
Talking about reports in the media claiming there was a party held at Sushant’s Bandra residence the night before he died, Singh said, “We have examined the CCTV footage of the building for June 13 and 14, we know about the people present in the flat. Joh unke saath rehnewale chaar-paanch vyakti the, unke alawa aur kisi party ke baare mein humein kuch bhi evidence nahi milli hai.”

‘Sushant messaged his lawyer and asked — Who is Disha Salian?’
There have been various theories doing the rounds in the media that Disha Salian’s death is linked to Sushant’s demise. “Apart from Disha and her fiancé, there were four more people at the house on the night of June 8. Statements of all those present and her parents were recorded, the CCTV footage was checked. Ussme yeh spasht dikhayi deta hai ke inn chhe vyakti ke alawa, wahan koi aur nahi tha, koi wahan ke political leader haazir nahi the, iske alawa koi aur connection nahi hai. Unke parivaar ke sadasyoon ne, mata-pita ne, aur friends joh uss party mein maujood the sabne statement diya hai ke issme koi suspicion nahi hai,” the Commissioner said.

‘Sushant was emotionally disturbed when his name was linked to Disha Salian’s death’
As per the investigation, the actor was upset when his name was linked to Disha Salian’s death. Singh shared, “Jab unka naam, Disha Salian ke suicide se linkkiya gaya, toh isse bahut emotionally disturb ho gaye the, iss prakar ka bayano mein aaya hai. Disha Salian was working for Cornerstone, a management company. She had met Sushant Singh Rajput only in the month of March. Lekin social media pe kuchh faltu rumours spread kiye gaaye, unko link kiya gaya suicide se. That disturbed him.In fact, he messaged his lawyer and asked, ‘Who is Disha Salian?’”