As the year draws to a close, one sour memory we will want to forget is the shameful media trial of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, and the witch hunt of his partner Rhea Chakraborty. After all the heat and dust has settled, and after three government agencies were pressed into the job of unearthing a ‘non-scam’, all that has been discovered is that Sushant smoked pot and his partner helped him occasionally procure some.
Actor Sushant tragically was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his home in Bandra, Mumbai on June 14. The Mumbai Police investigation concluded a week later that the cause of death “is asphyxia due to hanging”. The investigation also revealed that he was in clinical depression and was consulting a psychiatrist.
However, insidiously, and orchestrated by a shrill media campaign, the cause of Sushant Rajput’s death was shifted from suicide to abetment of suicide, and finally to murder. Republic TV lead the charge; others followed. Sushant’s ex-manager Disha Salian, had died falling off a 14th story balcony 5 days before Sushant took his life. The actor was possibly upset being linked to Salian’s death, but an entire conspiracy theory was churned up linking politician Aditya Thackeray to Salian’s death; and the Mumbai Police was accused of white-washing a case of murder. No credible evidence was ever offered.
Fanciful Theories
Egged on by these fanciful theories, Rajput’s father filed a FIR in Patna against Rhea Chakraborty and others charging them with abetment of suicide, theft and cheating. With lightening speed, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under instructions of the Union home ministry, took over the case. Simultaneously, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), another central agency, registered a case of money laundering based on allegations of Sushant’s father that Rs 15 crore had vanished from the actor’s account.
To complete the circle, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the country’s anti-drug enforcement agency, was drawn in. Another FIR was registered against Rhea, her brother Showik and 3 others, invoking sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). When the CBI and ED could not make much headway on the ‘murder’ charges, Rhea was arrested for being a drug financier and an operative in the drug delivery chain. She was finally given bail on 20 October by the Bombay High Court, but not before she had spent 6 weeks in jail and had her reputation destroyed.
The High Court found no evidence to support the NCB’s charges, and said at best she had procured small quantities of the weed to support her boyfriend’s habit. By now, Bollywood too was in the dock. The industry was portrayed as a hub of drug-dealing, cocaine-consuming degenerates that were behind the harassment and deaths of simple folk like Sushant.
The lack of evidence for the murder rap was make good by creating a spectacle outside the Narcotics Bureau office in Colaba, south Mumbai, where a bevy of Bollywood divas including Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, and Shraddha Kapoor were interrogated and paraded as eye candy for news channels.
By October, the picture was clear. The 3 government agencies pressed into service could not find any foul play. Dr. Sudhir Gupta of AIIMS, leader of the CBI-designated forensic medical team, admitted: “Sushant’s death is a case of suicide. Murder completely ruled out.” The ED too conceded there was no substantial money transfer to Rhea or her family. Case closed.
So why was the spectacle created? Who gained from these frenzied shows on TV where Rhea was denounced as a ‘witch’ and threats of rape were held out over social media. The Union government played along, lending its investigative agencies to cock a snook at the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government. For the news channels, it was nothing but running ‘entertainment content’ that cost nothing and earned high eyeball numbers. Good journalism be dammed!
Legalize Marijuana
The Delhi High Court finally stepped in on 9 November, restraining Republic TV and Times Now from broadcasting defamatory content against the film industry. Upbraiding the channels, the court said: “You represent the fourth pillar (of democracy), and people are scared about the condition of fourth estate in this country.”
The one ‘crime’ the investigation has proved is that Sushant was an occasional weed smoker; but isn’t it about time the drug was removed from the list of banned ‘narcotics’ in the NDPS Act. Weed or cannabis gives a mild, lingering high, and it can be disputed whether alcohol is any better. Canada, South Africa, Uruguay and Georgia have legalized it, and in 2018 California joined 14 other US states that have legalized it. More than half the world has either decriminalized weed, or does not enforce penalties.
The weed’s medicinal qualities are well known and one of the ingredients, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), provides relief from chronic pain. Cannabis is also commonly used to regulate and prevent diabetes, eases depression and is said to work wonders in cancer treatment. Illegal trade in the drug worldwide is valued at around $5.8 billion today, and can therefore be a substantial source of taxes.
‘Bhang’, the edible mixture made from the buds, leaves, and flowers of the female cannabis, or marijuana plant, is part of India’s Hindu temple culture for thousands of years. It is strange we are still imprisoning people for its use when it suits us.
Medicinal properties well-known
Marijuana’s medicinal qualities are well known by now and one of the ingredients, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is proven to provide relief from chronic pain