Rhea Chakraborty with the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. On Thursday, HC reserved its order on an FIR quashing a plea filed by Rajput’s sisters

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on a quashing petition filed by Sushant Singh Rajput’s two sisters, but not before saying a few words of praise for the late actor.

“From his face one can make out that he was innocent and sober and a very good human being. Even in M S Dhoni. Everyone loved him... They liked him, especially in that film,” said a bench of Justices S S Shinde and M S Karnik.

The sisters, Priyanka Singh and Mitu Singh, were seeking orders to quash a September 7, 2020, FIR lodged at Bandra police station by actor and Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty against them and a doctor for allegedly procuring a fake prescription of antidepressants for their brother and accusing them of abetting his suicide in June last year.

Senior counsel Vikas Singh, who flew in from Delhi for the sisters, said Chakraborty’s FIR was a “counter case’’ as she was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the abetment of suicide case lodged by Rajput’s father. He also said she had given three different versions in different fora and it was she who admitted to blocking his calls in his last days and could be responsible for his depression. Chakraborty’s counsel Satish Maneshinde, though, rebutted all allegations and said her complaint was over a “fake medical prescription” which needs to be investigated.

Singh said going by the CBI affidavit in their plea, there seems to be no evidence against the sisters. He said even if a patient is not available for a physical checkup, the caretaker can approach the doctor under the telemedicine guidelines in the midst of the pandemic. Hence, the sisters had done no wrong, besides there was nothing to show Rajput had consumed any medicines, Singh added.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh for CBI said the agency was already probing the unnatural death of the actor following a Supreme Court order, and the state should have transferred the case to it.

For the state, senior counsel Devdatta Kamat said that was what the state had done the case, registered on September 7, was promptly transferred to the CBI and the SC order provided for any new FIR to be sent to the CBI. He also said the case of an alleged prescription without valid and mandated consultation needs to be investigated as there are chats between Rajput and his sister earlier in June 2020. He also cited provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Maneshinde, while seeking dismissal of the sisters’ petition, said Chakraborty had an “altercation” with Rajput and was aware he was taking medicines but was not aware of the prescription and only when it was available on social media did she feel it could be the cause of his suicide. He said one circumstance behind his suicide could be a “dangerous cocktail of drugs, narcotic substances and medicines”. He said Chakraborty left Rajput’s home on June 8 and till then, for 14 months, had taken care of him. Maneshinde said after probing the case, the CBI can always file a closure report if it finds no evidence, but it cannot be quashed at this premature stage.

Priyanka (38) and Mitu (45) had petitioned HC to have the FIR quashed as they alleged it was based on a “concocted story’’ and “unfounded allegations, unsubstantiated facts and speculation” by Chakraborty to avoid her own arrest. Chakraborty, in turn, said it was “preposterous” to suggest she had filed the complaint to avoid arrest. The HC called for written submissions from all and reserved its order. 

BOMBAY TIMES (September 3, 2020)

In the months since the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, several titles have been registered for films based on his life. Now, while speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Sushant’s family’s lawyer Vikas Singh threatened legal action against those who make any piece of work based on the late actor without the family’s okay. “Through this press conference I’d like to inform everyone that (Sushant’s) father and sisters have taken a decision that no film, serial or book should be written about SSR without the express consent of Sushant’s father, without the script being shown to the father, and the family consenting to the script or the book or the serial or the film. In spite of this, if anyone goes ahead with such a project, appropriate action will be taken to ensure that such an action be properly and legally thwarted,” Singh said.

A couple of weeks ago, a source from a producers’ association told us, “We’ve received applications for three film titles related to Sushant Singh Rajput. The requests that we have received are for Sushant Singh Rajput – Biography, Sushant, and The Unsolved Murder Mystery – Rajput.”

Apart from these, an upcoming film, titled Shashank, allegedly based on Sushant’s life, has run into trouble after Sushant’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti called for a boycott of the film. While Sushant’s lookalike, Sachin Tiwari, was initially roped in to play the male lead, he has now been replaced by Aarya Babbar. In a recent chat, Aarya told us, “Shashank is about the soul of every small-town girl and boy, who wants to make it big in the industry, but is sadly pushed around. People are assuming that the film is about one person.” 

Dhananjay Mahapatra (THE TIMES OF INDIA; August 12, 2020)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the contrasting pleas for CBI probe into the alleged suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput even as Bihar and Maharashtra governments traded charges while arguing for and against investigation by the central agency on Rhea Chakraborty’s plea for transferring an FIR registered in Patna to Mumbai.

Before the hearing on Chakraborty’s petition ended, Justice Hrishikesh Roy cut through the arguments advanced on behalf of Rajput's girlfriend and said, “You may be correct in saying that you have been a victim of media focus on the case, but your stand is that if CBI probe is ordered into the incident, you have no objection.”

As the Bihar government and Rajput’s father on one side traded charges with Maharashtra and Chakraborty on the other, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said it was a fit case for CBI probe as Mumbai police had not registered an FIR till now and had pre-emptively declared it was a case of suicide. “We do not know the role of Chakraborty in the case — witness, accused, complainant or nobody? Yet, she moves an application in the SC seeking transfer of the FIR to Mumbai. What is her interest in seeking transfer when she should be interested only in a fair probe irrespective of the agency which investigates the case,” Mehta said.

On her behalf, senior advocate Shyam Divan said, “Politicisation and media trial of the case must stop to protect her (Chakraborty’s) right to privacy. There should be a fair investigation by a fair agency. The correct course under law is that the Patna FIR must be transferred to Mumbai and if Maharashtra government recommends, a CBI probe can take place,” Divan said.

For the Bihar government, senior advocate Maninder Singh and standing counsel Keshav Mohan said Patna police took the correct step in registering an FIR as even after nearly two months, Mumbai police had not registered a case into the actor’s death under “suspicious circumstances”. Singh said Mumbai police, at the behest of the Maharashtra government, was continuing with the inquiry based on an “accidental death” report and wondered who it was trying to protect by not registering an FIR for a proper investigation.

Appearing for Rajput’s father, senior advocate Vikas Singh supported the Bihar government’s stand and said, “Chakraborty had systematically cut off Rajput from his father and other family members. There were several injury marks on Rajput’s body and yet, Mumbai police continue to float the story that it was a case of suicide.”

For the Maharashtra government, senior advocate A M Singhvi said Rajput’s father had not sent a written complaint to Mumbai police, which alone had jurisdiction over the incident. He went on to question the jurisdiction and power of the SC’s single judge bench to order a CBI probe.

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. 

Dhananjay Mahapatra (THE TIMES OF INDIA; August 6, 2020)

New Delhi: A Supreme Court bench has granted three days to Sushant Singh Rajput’s father, Bihar government, Maharashtra government and Mumbai Police to place on record their stand on Rhea Chakraborty’s petition seeking transfer of the FIR lodged by Rajput’s father against her in Patna to Mumbai. It will hear the case again next week.

Before the Bihar government and Rajput’s father K K Singh sparred with the Maharashtra government over who should probe the actor’s death, solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the apex court that the Centre had accepted Bihar government’s proposal for a CBI probe and that a notification would be issued shortly.

Mehta said the in-principle decision to accept the recommendation was taken in view of demands for a CBI probe by Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, his father and the Bihar government. Chakraborty, who had tweeted to home minister Amit Shah demanding a CBI probe later moved SC seeking transfer of the FIR to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde said she was in Mumbai, asking people to refrain from speculating about her whereabouts.

Counsel for Rajput’s father, senior advocate Vikas Singh, said, “There is clear evidence of Rajput being beaten up mercilessly and strangled to death prior to stage-managing of the suicide. There must be a CBI probe as the Bihar police is being obstructed by Mumbai police from investigating the case.”

For Maharashtra government, senior advocate R Basant asked, “Is there any cause of action for registration of FIR in Patna? Look at the consequences. It affects federalism. Rajput’s father has not said or given anything in writing to Mumbai police till date. Now, the case is being driven by politics. If at all Bihar police registered an FIR, it should have been transferred to Mumbai. Bihar cannot recommend CBI probe into a case over which it has no jurisdiction.”

Appearing for the Bihar government, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and the state’s standing counsel Keshav Mohan said, “It is strange Maharashtra is talking of federalism. They quarantined a senior Bihar police officer when he reached Mumbai for investigation. As the CBI has taken over the probe, this petition (by Chakraborty) has become infructuous.”

Justice Hrishikesh Roy said Maharashtra police has to satisfy the court it has done a professional job, but disapproved of the quarantining of a Bihar IPS officer. “The case has hogged so much media time. Quarantining a Bihar police officer does not send a good signal. When so many eyes are focussed on the case, are you sending the correct signal? Whatever the nature of the case Mumbai police has registered, you give details and ensure that it is done in a professional way,” he said. 

As Sushant Singh Rajput's kin and friend trade allegations, Bihar police sources say they will question his colleagues to know if he was under stress
Uma Ramasubramanian, Vishal Singh (MID-DAY; August 1, 2020)

Sushant Singh Rajput's friend, Siddharth Pithani, has claimed that he is being pressured to give a statement against Rhea Chakraborty. In an email to the Bandra police on July 28, Pithani reportedly said Rajput's family asked him questions about Chakraborty.

He claimed they questioned him about her stay at the Bandra apartment, and a senior police official related to the Rajputs asked him to issue a statement against her to the Bihar Police. The mail, which was also marked to Chakraborty, has been cited by her in her petition to the Supreme Court, seeking a transfer of the probe from Patna to Mumbai.

When mid-day reached out to Vikas Singh, legal counsel to Rajput's father Krishna Kishore Singh, he refuted the allegations of the family pressuring Pithani. "From what I know, Siddharth Pithani has decided to change sides. The family was talking to him because he was living in the [Bandra] house when it happened. Earlier, he was saying something else. He marked the copy of the mail to Rhea. Why would he mark a complaint to the accused? As far as Siddharth's credibility is concerned, it's a catch-22 situation," said Vikas.

After Singh filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Chakraborty and five others at the Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna on Tuesday, the Bihar police booked them under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 306 (abetment of suicide), among others. A day later, the actor moved the Supreme Court seeking a transfer of the Patna FIR to Mumbai. "The Bihar police have discovered so much that the Mumbai police had not even touched upon. Earlier, Rhea had said that she wanted a CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] inquiry. Now, she wants the Mumbai police to handle the probe. If she is innocent, why isn't she asking that the case be transferred to CBI?" questioned the lawyer.

Even as the case is taking an emotional toll on the family, Rajput's cousin-BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar Singh said they are in pursuit of justice. "If Rhea was emotionally attached to Sushant, why is she scared of giving her clarification to the Bihar police? Our family only wants the truth to come out, we don't want the innocent to suffer," said Neeraj.

In a recent interview, Rajput's former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande dismissed the idea of the actor battling depression. Echoing Lokhande's sentiment, Neeraj said that the past few weeks have given way to several unsubstantiated theories. "Earlier, people were saying he had a financial crisis, which turned out to be baseless. Likewise, the depression story will be proved wrong. We should leave it to the cops to investigate who was the cause of his mental stress."

Chakraborty, in a video statement last evening, said, "I have immense faith in God and the judiciary. I believe I will get justice. Even though a lot of horrible things are being said about me, I refrain from commenting on the advice of my lawyers as the matter is subjudice." Satish Maneshinde, Chakraborty's legal counsel, remained unavailable despite repeated calls.

Next Step For Bihar Police
A source from the Bihar police informs that in the coming days, the team will interrogate the cast of Rajput's last release, Dil Bechara. "Sushant was believed to be under tremendous stress during the last few weeks. So, the team wants to question the cast and crew to understand his behaviour on the set," says the source. As part of the investigation, the Bihar police have met Rajput's counsellors. "It came to light that Rhea's family members used to be present during the counselling sessions," added the source. The team will now proceed to record the statements of the doctors who performed the post-mortem. At a meeting on Friday evening, the Bihar police sought additional manpower from the Mumbai police to continue the probe. "The Bihar police has submitted an application, which has been forwarded for legal opinion," said a senior officer from the Mumbai police.

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. 

Actor’s father also met joint CP, but only sought help in getting the flat his son occupied vacated
Vinay Dalvi and Vallabh Ozarkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 30, 2020)

Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister and father in their signed statements to the Mumbai Police did not say a word against his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, who they have now accused of driving the star to kill himself by suicide in an FIR filed with the Bihar police.

Sushant’s father also met Joint Commissioner of Police Vinay Kumar Chaubey towards the end of June, almost two weeks after the star’s death, but once again did not mention anything about Rhea or the alleged mental torture of the actor that the FIR registered by the Bihar police details. Sources said that in the meeting with Chaubey, Sushant’s father Krishan Kumar Singh only sought police’s help to get the Bandra flat his son occupied vacated.

A senior police officer, who did not wish to be identified, said they had on multiple occasions called Mitu Singh, Sushant’s sister, for questioning, but she said she was busy. “Not only did she not mention Rhea on the day of Sushant’s death and then again in her signed statement, she also did not respond to several requests by the investigating team to appear for recording of more detailed statement. The officer said the FIR in Bihar is an attempt to range police forces of two states against each other and get the case, eventually, transferred to the CBI.”

Meanwhile, former additional solicitor general Vikas Singh, who is representing Sushant’s family, said the FIR in Bihar was the last resort after Mumbai police showed no inclination to go beyond questioning head honchos of big production houses.

At a press conference in New Delhi, where Rhea has moved the Supreme Court, seeking transfer of the FIR filed in Bihar to Mumbai Police, Singh said Sushant’s father had on February 5 called the Bandra police to alert them to his son being suicidal. The Bandra police on Wednesday denied receiving any such call.