A major turf war broke out between the Mumbai and Bihar police over the investigations into the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput on Wednesday, as spotlight turned onto the late actor’s girl friend Rhea Chakraborty who moved the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of the FIR registered in the case from Patna to Mumbai.
In new twist that came in the sensational case after the actor’s father Krishna Kumar Singh lodged a FIR against Rhea and her family members in Patna, Rhea Chakraborty swiftly moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday, even as the Bihar police slugged it out with the Mumbai police for taking charge of the investigations into the case.
Rhea’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde confirmed that a petition had been filed by his client in the Supreme Court seeking transfer of investigation in the FIR filed against her and her family members in the Sushant Singh Rajput's alleged suicide.
The late actor’s father KK Singh lodged an FIR with Rajiv Nagar police station under various sections of IPC including 306 (abetment of suicide) on July 25.
Following the registration of the FIR by the Rajiv Nagar police station, a four-member team of the Patna police that arrived here on Tuesday began pressuring the Mumbai police to transfer the investigations in the case to the visiting police on the ground that the FIR was registered first in the Bihar capital.
Sushant (34), who had acted in films like “MS Dhoni: The Untold Story”, “Shuddh Desi Romance”, PK, “Raabta”, “Kedarnath”, “Detective Byomkesh” and Chhichore, committed suicide at his rented duplex flat in Bandra on June 14.
The Bandra police, who had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in connection with Sushant’s suicide, have come in for several quarters for its failure to register an FIR in the case, despite the fact that they have questioned a host of film personalities, friends and acquaintances of the deceased actor for the past six weeks.
Defending the move by Sushant’s father in his son’s suicide case in Patna, Vikas Singh, former solicitor general and lawyer, who is representing Sushant’s family, said: “Sushant’s family was in a state of shock. As the Mumbai did not register an FIR in the case but was merely forcing the family members to implicate big production houses in the case. Sushant’s family had no alternative but to register the FIR with the Patna police”.
At a time when the Bihar and Mumbai police are fighting on technical ground to take over the investigations into the case, there is a clamour in certain quarters that the case be handed over to the CBI.
Senior BJP leader Dr Subramanian Swamy has gone on record saying that the Mumbai police are not handling the case in a professional manner. “The Patna police have investigated and registered a FIR on several offences Sushant Singh Rajput’s mysterious death but Mumbai police have not got beyond Inquest under section 174 of CrPC and not registered a criminal case reveals the possible mindset of Mumbai police,” Swamy said.
Sources in the State Home Ministry said that the Maharashtra government had no plans at all to hand over the investigations into Sushant's suicide case to the CBI and that it had serious reservations about handing over the case to the Patna police as well.
On his part, Sushant’s father has lodged an FIR against Rhea Chakraborty and her family including Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandhya Chakraborty, Shruti Modi, Showik Chakraborty and others under sections 341, 342, 380, 406,420, 306 and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Mumbai police have so far questioned 40 people, friends, family members, associates, executives of production and several Bollywood bigwigs like filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Rhea Chakraborty has also recorded her statement.
Among other things, Sushant’s father KK Singh has alleged that his son’s bank account transaction history showed he had Rs 17 crore in one account, of which Rs 15 crore had been transferred to an account that had nothing to do with him. He has also alleged that Rhea had left him and took away his treatment papers, laptop, credit cards, jewellery and cash. He has also said that his son did not suffer from mental health issues before his relationship with Rhea.
Sushant’s former girlfriend and companion Ankita, a television actress, wrote on a black wall: “Truth Wins”. Sushant had a long relationship with Ankita.
Meanwhile, Sushant’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti, wrote on Instagram: “If truth doesn’t matter, nothing ever will! #justiceforsushantsinghrajput” – and posted a picture from her Patna home, where a portrait of the actor is kept.
Meanwhile, sources in the Mumbai police said that its team would record Sushant's sister Mitu Singh's statement in connection with the actor's alleged suicide. Mitu Singh’s husband is a senior police officer based in Haryana.