FIR in Sushant Singh Rajput case: Rhea Chakraborty can be held, says advocate

PATNA: The four-member Patna police team recorded the statement of Bollywood actor late Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Neetu Singh at her Versova residence in Mumbai on Wednesday in connection with her brother’s alleged suicide, a senior IPS officer of Bihar said. The team tried to meet actress Rhea Chakraborty, but she was not in her flat, sources said. Sushant had been found hanging and dead at his Bandra flat in Mumbai on June 14.
The Patna police team is in Mumbai to investigate the suicide case after Sushant’s father K K Singh lodged an FIR with Rajiv Nagar police station here on July 25 against Rhea, her family members and known associates for abetting Sushant to commit suicide after unlawfully confining and cheating him financially.
Sushant’s family counsel and senior Supreme Court advocate, Vikas Singh, said no FIR was lodged in Mumbai in Sushant’s death case. “The FIR in Patna was lodged only after the intervention of CM Nitish Kumar and his minister Sanjay Jha,” he told TOI over the phone on Wednesday.
Patna SSP Upendra Kumar Sharma also said as per his knowledge, no FIR had been lodged in Mumbai in Sushant’s suicide case. “Only a case of unnatural death had been registered by the Mumbai police,” he said.
Rhea’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde had said on Tuesday that a second FIR on the same set of facts was not legal and he would question its legality.
When asked, Singh said Rhea can be arrested on the basis of materials in the FIR lodged by Sushant’s father. “The family has enough and strong evidence to prove the allegations. Our emphasis is that Rhea abetted Sushant to commit suicide,” the advocate said.
Singh said the family had been urging the Mumbai police to investigate the involvement of those who had been close to Sushant, mainly Rhea. “It is a lie if anyone says we had not urged the Mumbai police to investigate Rhea’s involvement in Sushant’s suicide,” he said.
“Sushant’s family had even informed the Bandra police station in Mumbai on February 25 this year apprehending threat to him. But Mumbai police is quizzing all others in the Bollywood,” the advocate said.
Singh said Rhea first cut off Sushant from his family. “His father tried to contact him even through his bodyguards, but in vain,” he said.
He also said the family didn’t find any medical document from Sushant’s residence after his death as Rhea had taken away everything.
Meanwhile, sources said the Patna police team also met officials of a private bank branch in Andheri where Sushant had his account from which Rs15 crore was transferred to different bank accounts over a period of time.
IG (central range) Sanjay Singh told TOI that Rhea would be quizzed by the Patna police. He said the primary aim of the Patna team is to gather evidence. “Further course of action will be decided later as per the evidence we get,” the IG added.
The Patna SSP said it would depend on how much assistance the Mumbai police provides to Patna police for investigation. “Statements of relevant persons there will be recorded,” he said.