Rhea claims that Rajput had forced her to leave his house before his sister’s arrival
Actress Rhea Chakraborty became the focal point of the developments in the Sushant Singh Rajput death saga on Thursday as a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team arrived here from New Delhi to investigate the drug angle involving her. She claimed that late Sushant had forced her to leave his flat before the arrival of his sister Meetu and the late actor’s father KK Singh called
her a “murderer” and accused her of “poisoning” his son for a long time.
The CBI’s ongoing investigations into Sushant’s death took a backseat as the NCB launched drug-related investigations into the actor’s death, a day after it registered a case under sections 20, 22, 27 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act and booked Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik Chakraborty and others.
Having joined the investigations in the SSR death case on the basis of the retrieved WhatsApp messages of Rhea shared by the Enforcement Directorate with it, a three-member NCB team that arrived from the national Capital went headlong into the investigations in drug-related matters relating to Sushant’s death case. The NCB is investigating the allegations under non-bailable provisions under the anti-drug law for allegedly “possessing, purchasing and using cannabis” and for alleged “abetment and criminal conspiracy to commit an offence”.
As part of its investigations into the alleged procurement and usage of drugs like MDMA, marijuana, LSD and Cannabidiol which figured in the retrieved WhatsApp conversation that Rhea had with others, the NCB is likely to grill Rhea, Sushant’s former talent manager Jaya Saha, his house manager Samuel Miranda and Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya, who has been hinted as drug supplier for Rhea.
On her part, Rhea — who has been accused by Rhea’s family of having abetted the actor’s suicide — vehemently denied that she had ever taken drugs. She also denied she had any links with the drug dealers and peddlers. “I am prepared to undergo blood test if the NCB wants me to do so,” she said. She however, admitted that Sushant was taking marijuana.
On a day when Rhea’s father was questioned by the ED, Rhea posted a video on Instagram showing her father being mobbed and chased by mediapersons outside their house in Mumbai. She sought protection for her and her family from Mumbai Police so that the family can co-operate with the probe agencies in the Sushant case.
“This is inside my building compound, The man in this video is my father Indrajit Chakraborty (retired army officer). We have been trying to get out of our house to cooperate with ED , CBI and various investigation authorities to cooperate,” Rhea wrote along with the video posted on Instagram.
In a related development, Sushant’s father KK Singh upped the ante by charging that Rhea was giving ‘poison’ to Sushant for a long time and demanding that she be arrested immediately.
In a video put out by ANI that went viral, Singh dubbed Rhea as a ‘murderer’. “Rhea Chakraborty was giving poison to my son, Sushant, for a long time. She is his murderer. The investigating agency must arrest her and her associates,” Singh said.
Singh’s charge came on the heels of Sushant’s sister Shweta Singh Kirt going to town demanding Rhea’s arrest in a series of tweets put out on Thursday, Shweta had charged that Rhea was ‘doing publicity stunts’ and demanded her immediate arrest.
“Government of India needs to see to it that a prime accused should not be moving around giving interviews and doing publicity stunts!!! #ArrestRheaChakroborty,” Shweta had tweeted.
In one of the revelations made in an interview aired by India Today, Rhea said that it was Sushant who drove her out of his flat on June 8, six days before the actor’s death on June 14, contrary to the speculation that she had ditched Sushant and left his home when the latter needed her most. “At that time, I was unwell,” she said.
“On June 2-3 he started asking me to leave. I was also unwell, I was getting anxiety attacks. June 8, I had a therapy session, and I didn’t want to do at my parents’ place because I didn’t want them to see me like this. Sushant told me to leave before the therapy, I asked him to let me go after the session, but he insisted. His sister was coming over, he insisted that I leave before she arrives. I said I will leave only when his sister Meetu, who lives in Gurgaon, arrives. But he kept pushing me to leave before she arrives,’ Rhea recalled.
“His family and I did not share a good bond, but I understand what a family bond is like, and I wanted her to come so he would be in good hands,” Rhea said in the interview.
Alluding to their trip to Europe, Rhea said; “On this trip, Paris mein mera ek shoot thaa, Shein, clothing wear ka ek company hai. Unka ek fashion show thaa. Uss fashion show mein mujhe Paris bulaaya jaa raha thaa. The company booked my business class tickets and stay. But Sushant thought it was a good idea to make a Europe trip out of this. Sushant cancelled those tickets and booked first class tickets.”
“Rest of the trip, he paid for the hotels. He wanted to and I didn’t have a problem with that. Ultimately, he lived king size. I had a problem with the amount he was spending,” Rhea said.
Asked as to when she came to know about Rhea’s death, Rhea replied that on the afternoon of June 14 she came to know from rumours were afloat Sushant, she thought they were mere rumours and 10 to 15 minutes later she got confirmation about the actor’s death.
Replying to a question, Rhea said; ‘nahi, main unke ghar nahi gayi thi. I broke down. I was completely shocked. Mujhe samajh nahi aa raha thaa ki aisa kaise ho sakta hai’.
Rhea, who could not go to Sushant’s funeral as his family was opposed to her presence at the funeral, admitted that she had visited the mortuary to have the last glimpse of her actor-friend, that she spent 3 to four seconds and that she said ‘I am sorry, babu’.
Asked as to why she said “I am sorry, babu’ in the mortuary, Rhea said; ‘Yes, what else is someone supposed to say to someone who has lost his life? I am sorry you have lost your life. I am sorry that your death has been made a joke. I am sorry that everyone has made a joke of your death. I am sorry that your last memory is not of your intelligence or your charity. That is also misconstrued. Aur kya bolein?... I was there in mortuary for probably 3-4 seconds. Then I was told to wait outside”.
Meanwhile, during the course of money laundering probe in Sushant Singh Rajput death case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered two cloned SIMs of Rhea Chakraborty. The analysis of the WhatsApp chat of her phones has revealed that Rhea allegedly got Rajput’s debit card PIN from another accused Samuel Miranda who was the house manager of the Late film star.
The analysis of the conversation between Rhea and Miranda has further revealed that these two persons were working in close coordination and were allegedly using funds of Rajput for their own purpose.