Cops claim that actor’s IPS brother-in-law wanted Samuel Miranda to be taken into custody and interrogated on an ‘informal basis’
Vallabh Ozarkar (THE TIMES OF INDIA; August 5, 2020)

Details of conversation and WhatsApp communication between Haryana-based IPS officer O P Singh, brother-in-law of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and Paramjit Singh Dahiya, then deputy commissioner, Zone 9, Bandra police, emerged on Tuesday. The developments came a day after Rajput’s family released a text/screenshot of a complaint sent by Singh to Dahiya stating that there was a threat to the actor’s life, and that Mumbai police had ignored the family’s concerns in February.

Dahiya told Mumbai Mirror on Tuesday that Singh had asked Bandra police to summon Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and intimidate her and take into custody his friend Samuel Miranda for interrogation. According to Dahiya, Singh did not want to file a formal complaint but wanted everything to be handled on an “informal basis”.

According to Dahiya, he first contacted Singh in the first week of February through a batch-mate. The batch-mate told Dahiya that Singh would call him soon. On February 5 Singh and his wife arrived in Mumbai on a three-day break, during which the two police officers were in constant touch.

On returning to Haryana, Singh wanted the Mumbai police to get in touch with Rajput’s manager, to let the actor know they had been in the city. Dahiya said he found it odd that Singh could not do so himself.

On February 19 and 25, Singh sent messages to Dahiya saying he wanted Chakraborty to be “handled informally”. He also wanted Mumbai police to summon Miranda and keep him in custody for a day, so he would “spill the beans” on Chakraborty.

Dahiya told Mirror: “It was clearly communicated that it would not be possible to initiate an inquiry without a written and formal complaint. The last message was on February 25, and I had called Singh and requested him to lodge a formal complaint. But he wanted to get it resolved informally. After this, he never contacted me in this regard and I was transferred from Bandra on April 1 this year. Singh never came forward with any complaints for the next four months.”
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Mumbai Zone 9 DCP Dahiya tells mid-day that the late actor's brother-in-law sent WhatsApp texts seeking personal intervention, but never registered a formal plaint
Shirish Vaktania, Vishal Singh (MID-DAY; August 5, 2020)

A day after being accused of not acting on a request from Sushant Singh Rajput's kin in February, a Mumbai top cop said the actor's family was spreading the wrong message and misleading the public. "He [the relative] wanted us to slap actor Rhea Chakraborty and keep her in custody without a formal complaint," Zone 9 Deputy Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Dahiya told mid-day on Tuesday.

Rajput's father Krishna Kishore Singh on Monday released WhatsApp conversations between Dahiya and his son-in-law O P Singh, who had claimed the actor's life was in danger and had asked the DCP to personally intervene. Dahiya said he became acquainted with O P Singh, a senior IPS officer posted in Haryana, through a common friend.

"In February, he sent me WhatsApp messages, asking me to call Rhea to the police station and slap her. Rhea and Sushant were in a live-in relationship then. They wanted us to take her and someone named Miranda in custody. I told him we need a written complaint to take any action, but he didn't file one." "I can't call the actor and slap her. This is against the law and O P Singh should know this... I had asked O P Singh several times to file a formal complaint, but he never did." "Why is the senior IPS officer bringing up the matter after 45 days and spreading the wrong message that we didn't act?" Dahiya asked.

'It was against the law'
In one of the messages sent to Dahiya, O P Singh alleged that "Miranda and Shruti" and Rhea are "part of the common conspiracy to destroy Sushant monetarily, mentally and physically... We need to [take] immediate and concrete action as family to save Sushant, to provide him with timely medical intervention. This is possible through your direct involvement... If we somehow keep Miranda in police custody for a day, he will spell [spill] the beans and his statement would be sufficient for us to take technical and legal action [sic]."

A senior Mumbai police officer on Tuesday said Rajput's family has deliberately leaked selective messages from the chat. "O P Singh messaged Dahiya many times, asking for help, like asking to arrange for a car, get it passed, etc. Why did O P Singh not leak that to the media?" the officer asked. Even at the time of the death, O P Singh didn't give any statement to the Mumbai police, the officer added.

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?’”