Actress Rhea moves SC, seeks stay on probe in FIR against her in Sushant Rajput death case; Bihar police team in Mumbai

The move by Rhea to rush to the top court assumes significance in view of the fact that a Bihar police team is already in Mumbai and may seek to interrogate the actress as the FIR contained allegations of severe criminal offences such as abetment of suicide and criminal breach of trust. Advocate Satish Maneshinde, who is representing Rhea, said he has filed a petition in the apex court seeking transfer of the case from Patna to Mumbai.

Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the probe by the Bihar police on the FIR filed against her by Sushant Singh Rajput’s father for allegedly abetting the suicide of his actor son. As Rhea, 28, also sought transfer of the FIR of Sushant's father Krishna Kumar Singh from Patna to Mumbai, a four-member Bihar Police team arrived in Mumbai to probe the `abetment to suicide' case registered against her and six others.

An FIR was lodged on the basis of the complaint by 74-year-old Singh against Rhea, the deceased actor's friend, and six others on July 25 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) including those pertaining to abetment of suicide and fraud, Inspector General of Police, Patna Zone, Sanjay Singh told PTI. Singh lodged the FIR under various sections of IPC including 306 (abetment of suicide), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).

Sushant, 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 actor had starred in films such as "Chichhore", "Kai Po Che" and "Kedarnath". The move by Rhea to rush to the top court assumes significance in view of the fact that a Bihar police team is already in Mumbai and may seek to interrogate the actress as the FIR contained allegations of severe criminal offences such as abetment of suicide and criminal breach of trust.

Advocate Satish Maneshinde, who is representing Rhea, said he has filed a petition in the apex court seeking transfer of the case from Patna to Mumbai. In her plea, Rhea also sought stay on the probe by Bihar Police on the FIR till the disposal of her plea in the top court, Maneshinde said.

The case in which the Mumbai police has been busy quizzing Bollywood’s big producers and directors like Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Aditya Chopra and others to know the reasons behind the untimely demise of the young actor suddenly took a new turn with Rajput’s father lodging the FIR. Rhea had also recorded her statement with the Mumbai police.

After Rajput's death, Rhea had requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Twitter seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI). Several political leaders and film personalities have also demanded a CBI probe into the death.

On arrival in Mumbai, the Bihar police team went to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection-I) of the Mumbai crime branch. "Mumbai police is providing assistance to us. We cannot talk about the investigation," said an officer of the Bihar police team.

The team also met Sushant's sister in suburban Versova and recorded her statement, said a city police source. Before that, the team visited Sushant's apartment in Bandra, he added. The Bihar police may also examine Sushant's financial transactions and bank records, he said.

Sushant's suspected death by suicide has also triggered a debate on alleged nepotism and favouritism in the Hindi film industry. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who is the family lawyer of Sushant, alleged that Rhea's plea in the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the FIR from Patna indicated that "somebody in Mumbai police was helping her." Singh said Rhea, who was seeking transfer of Sushant's case to CBI until now, has now chosen to move the top court for a stay on the investigation against her.

"If she has moved the apex court, she should have filed a petition seeking CBI investigation," he said. “FIR is registered in Patna, now she has filed a petition in Supreme Court seeking stay and transfer of investigation to Mumbai. 'Isse jyada kya proof chahiye ki' (what more proof is needed that) somebody in Mumbai Police is helping her,” Singh told PTI.

Actor Ankita Lokhande, meanwhile, shared a two-word mysterious post on social media: 'Truth Wins'. Lokhande, who dated Sushant, her "Pavitra Rishta" co-star for over six years till 2016, took to Twitter to share a black-and-white image with "TRUTH WINS" written in the centre.

Actor Swastika Mukherjee said it is unfortunate that one will never get to know why Sushant decided to end his life, but the manner in which the conversation around his death is being "fuelled with more assumptions, hate and evil" is beyond pathetic. Mukherjee starred with Sushant in the recently released "Dil Bechara", his swansong. The actors previously worked together in the 2015 crime thriller "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!".

“...Nobody, whether family or fans, will ever get to know what happened. Nobody is ever going to get closure," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)