Sushant’s father used ‘influence’ to rope me in this case: Rhea Chakraborty to SC

PTI, Jul 31, 2020, 9:21 AM IST

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New Delhi: Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty has alleged before the Supreme Court that actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s father has used his “influence” in roping her in the FIR lodged at Patna in Bihar accusing her of abetment of suicide of his son.

Sushant, aged 34, was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14 and since then the Mumbai police has been probing the case keeping in mind various angles.

The allegations in the FIR lodged at Patna against Rhea “reflect the influence” of Rajput’s father in illegally roping her in the case, said the petition filed by her on Wednesday seeking transfer of the FIR from Patna to Mumbai,

“The Petitioner is an actress and is into acting since 2012. In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case, the Petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case filed at the instance of Krishna Kishore Singh-father of the deceased…,” the plea said.

Rhea in her plea admitted that she was in a live-in relationship with Rajput and has been in deep trauma due to the death of the actor and moreover getting rape and death threats.

“Petitioner has also received various death and rape threats and she is in deep trauma due to the loss of deceased, which is multiplied further due to the media sensitivity of the case,” it said, adding that she has also filed a complaint at Santa Cruz police station against the rape and death threats.

She said, “It is pertinent to mention that the deceased and petitioner were in a live-in relationship since a year up till June 8, 2020, when the petitioner had temporarily shifted to her own residence in Mumbai.”

“Deceased was suffering from depression for some time and was also on anti-depressants and he committed suicide on the morning of June 14, 2020, at his Bandra residence by hanging himself. ‘Unnatural death report’ was filed by Bandra police station at Mumbai and causes leading to the taking of such drastic steps are being examined,” Her plea said.

Rhea said that she was summoned by the Bandra police on various occasions and her statement was also recorded under section 175 of CrpC and she understands that the probe of Mumbai police is still going on as some of the forensic reports are still awaited. She said that Section 177 of CrPC mandates that every offense shall be inquired into and shall be tried by the magistrate within whose local jurisdiction it was committed.

Rhea said that even if there is an iota of truth in the case registered by Rajput’s father, the jurisdiction to probe the offense would still lie with the Bandra Police Station.

She alleged that there cannot be an “impartial investigation” in Bihar for the case and hence, she sought transfer of probe in the FIR to Mumbai. “In Bihar, there cannot be an impartial investigation and thereby she seeks transfer of probe in the FIR registered in Bihar to Mumbai,” she stated in her petition.

Bihar Police started the investigation after an FIR was registered by Rajput’s father KK Singh in Patna against Chakraborty under several sections including abetment of suicide. The Bihar government and Rajput’s family have filed caveats before the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking to challenge Chakraborty’s petition.