'Somebody in Mumbai police helping Rhea'

Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty on Wednesday, July 29, moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of an FIR from Patna to Mumbai and the stay on the investigation by the Bihar police after Sushant Singh Rajput's father alleged she had abetted his actor son's suicide.

Sushant, aged 34, was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in Bandra, north west Mumbai, on June 14. The Mumbai police has been probing the case since his death.

Rhea's move to approach the apex court assumes significance after a four-member Bihar police team arrived in Mumbai.

They may seek to interrogate Rhea as the FIR lodged at Patna by Rajput's father K K Singh contained allegations of severe criminal offences such as abetment of suicide and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code.

Satish Maneshinde, the well-known lawyer who is representing Rhea, said he has filed a petition in the apex court seeking transfer of the case from Patna to Mumbai where a police probe into Sushant's suicide is going on.

In her plea, Rhea sought a stay on the Bihar police probe based on the FIR lodged by Sushant's father till disposal of her plea in the apex court, Maneshinde said.

The move came four days after K K Singh lodged an FIR at the Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna against Rhea and six others, including her family members, accusing them of abetting his son's suicide.

The case, in which the Mumbai police has been busy quizzing Bollywood producers and directors like Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Aditya Chopra and others to know the reasons behind the actor's untimely demise, took a new turn with Sushant's father lodging the FIR against his rumoured actor girlfriend Rhea.

Rhea has already made a statement before the Mumbai police.

K K Singh, on July 25, lodged the FIR under various sections of the IPC including Section 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).

After Sushant's death, Rhea had requested Union Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah on Twitter seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

After their arrival in Mumbai, the Bihar police team went to the office of the deputy commissioner of police (Detection-I) at the Mumbai crime branch.

"The 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 Versova, north west Mumbai, 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.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who is Sushant's family lawyer, alleged that Rhea's plea in the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the FIR from Patna indicated that "somebody in Mumbai police is helping her."

Singh said Rhea, who had sought transfer of Sushant's case to the CBI, 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 a CBI investigation," he said.

"Now that an FIR is registered in Patna, 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 the 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.