Sushant Singh Rajput case: Two deaths and a lot of politics

The probe into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has become contaminated by political skulduggery

When Disha Salian, a manager at the talent management firm that represented Sushant Singh Rajput, fell from a high-rise building in Malad on the intervening night of 8-9 June, the news largely went unnoticed. But there was chatter about it on social media platforms – and it disturbed the 34-year-old Rajput. He called up his lawyer and asked who Disha Salian was. And he wanted to know why his name was being associated with her death. Days later, on June 14, Rajput, who shot to fame playing MS Dhoni in the biopic on the former Indian cricket captain, was found hanging in his flat in Mont Blanc Apartments on Carter Road in upscale Bandra. Mumbai Police says Rajput ended his own life. His death put an end to a promising career but has opened up a can of worms.

The actor’s death has now become an inter-state issue, a Maharashtra vs Bihar clash, and it has become a full-blown political issue with the name of Aditya Thackeray, Maharashtra’s environment minister and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son, dragged into the whole affair. The central government, which has its own axe to grind against the Thackerays, has conveniently said it agrees with the Bihar police’s recommendation for a CBI probe into Rajput’s death.

Also Read | Sushant Singh Rajput death case: Probe overshadowed by gossip, media trial and politicians settling scores

Leading the BJP charge against the Thackerays is its Rajya Sabha member and former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane, who has claimed that both Rajput and Disha Salian were murdered. “Both Sushant and Disha were murdered…the post-mortem reveals that Disha was raped and murdered,” he said.

The two deaths have thus acquired all the elements of an unsolved mystery -- love, betrayal, fraud, politics, professional rivalry, and more.

Soon after Rajput’s death, when reports of favouritism and professional issues surfaced as causes that had led to the tragedy, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said those issues would be probed. A section of the film industry has blamed big production houses of backing off from giving Rajput roles after having initially offered them to him.

Also Read | CBI acted in indecent haste, Bihar police had no jurisdiction to lodge FIR in Sushant Singh Rajput's case, Mumbai police tells SC

The probe also looked at Rajput’s relationship with his former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande, his co-star in a TV series. The two had broken off in 2016, after which model-actress Rhea Chakraborty entered his life.

The events leading up to the death of Disha Salian are only partially known – hours before she fell to her death, she had been partying at her boyfriend Rohan Rai’s house. But the Mumbai Police say one thing is clear:

“Sushant Rajput was very conscious about what was appearing about him on social media. After his name was linked to Disha Salian’s death, he was emotionally disturbed,” Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh told the media. “Sushant would Google his own name to see what was being written about him. He also searched for ‘painless death’, ‘schizophrenia’ and ‘bipolar disorder’.

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So far, Mumbai Police has not registered an FIR. It is investigating on the basis of the ADR, or accidental death report, that was written on June 14.

This was the contention of Bihar police, which filed an FIR at Rajivnagar police station, based on a complaint by Rajput’s father.

Unannounced, a four-member police team from Patna landed in Mumbai and started a parallel investigation and recording statements. But when Superintendent of Police Vijay Tiwari, an IPS officer, landed in Mumbai to supervise the probe, Mumbai’s authorities took him to Goregaon and placed him in quarantine. This rattled Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Tiwari was released after the CBI came into the picture and registered an FIR in the case.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned in targeting the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government.

Also Read | Rhea Chakraborty and family's continued criminal action caused Sushant's death, actor's father claims before SC

“The two deaths have become a messy affair with unverified posts on social media. The public perception is different from what actually happens in Mumbai’s entertainment industry,” said a veteran cop, with a background in investigations and intelligence. Mumbai police has recorded the statements of 56 people so far in its probe.

Rajput’s family has alleged that he had been swindled of Rs 18 crore by Rhea Chakraborty and her family and that she abetted his suicide. Rajput’s former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande has sided with his family against Rhea.

Bandra police station officials, who are investigating the case, have however said that Sushant’s father and sisters had not made these allegations in their initial statement to them, nor did they corroborate their statements later. Meanwhile, actors Kangana Ranaut and Shekhar Suman, who had initially spoken of nepotism in Bollywood, have demanded a CBI probe, with Ranaut even accusing the Thackerays of suppressing the investigation.

“The Mumbai police and courts have clear jurisdiction in both the cases (Rajput and Salian) and the federal structure and protocols cannot be done away with,” said a senior leader of the MVA, the ruling alliance.

Also Read | Mumbai police investigating Sushant Singh Rajput's case professionally, but will go by what Supreme Court says: Anil Deshmukh

“I have relations with many people in Bollywood, but that is not a crime,” said Aditya Thackeray, defending against insinuations that he was present at the party at Rohan Rai’s house and so had something to do with Disha Salian’s death soon afterwards. “The Thackeray family, and I personally am being targeted with slander by disgruntled political elements. This is low-level dirty politics.”

It has also been alleged that there was not only a party at Rai’s flat in Malad on June 8, but also there was one on June 13 at Rajput’s flat. While the Mumbai police said they had recorded the statements of those who were present at the party at Rai’s flat, there is no evidence of any party on the eve of Rajput’s death.

The BJP’s Rane gave the whole affair a new twist by alleging that a “Maharashtra minister” and actor-model Dino Morea had met at the latter’s house and
then went to Rajput’s house on June
13. Morea has denied this and asked Rane to “get your facts right. I have no connection to any of this. Don’t drag my name into it.”

What has come to light is that Rajput and Rhea had gone on a trip to Europe last year. He had developed health problems after returning. Around Diwali last year, he had shifted to her residence, and later moved to the Bandra flat. Rajput was consulting psychiatrists and psychotherapists. The medicines, according to family and friends, were being given to him by Rhea when they were together. Their accounts are said to show withdrawals to buy puja material, giving rise to charges that there was even black magic in the mix.

Rajput’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani, a creative content manager, too has come under the cloud of suspicion. The Bihar police has managed to record the statement of Deepesh Sawant, the actor’s manager. In February, the family informally conveyed to Mumbai police about a threat to the actor’s life. The Bihar police FIR, and the CBI’s, names Rhea’s family members and aides as those behind Rajput’s death.

The charge that Disha Salian was raped and murder and that her fall from the building was not an accident or suicide has complicated both the cases. Actor Sooraj Pancholi, on whom the needle of suspicion was pointed, has said that he had never known Disha nor had he attended any party at Rai’s flat.