MUMBAI/PATNA: The Sushant Singh Rajput death case is turning out to be a battle between Maharashtra and the Bihar governments. The Uddhav Thackeray government on Friday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking to be heard before any order is passed on the plea of actress Rhea Chakraborty, accused by Sushant’s family of driving him to suicide.
Rhea had moved the apex court challenging the jurisdiction of the Patna police in lodging an FIR in connection with the actor’s suicide and seeking the transfer of the case to Mumbai. The Maharashtra government’s move came a day after Sushant’s family and the Bihar government filed separate caveats seeking to be heard before passing any order on Rhea’s plea.
Trouble has mounted for Rhea, who was Sushant’s girlfriend, after the Enforcement Directorate filed a money-laundering case against her and her family members in connection with transfer of Rs 15 crore from Sushant’s bank account. The ED booked her on the basis of the FIR filed by Bihar Police.
As demand for CBI probe intensifies in the case, Rhea released a video message saying truth shall prevail.
“I have immense faith in God and the judiciary. I believe that I will get justice. Even though a lot of horrible things are being said about me on the electronic media, I refrain from commenting as the matter is sub judice. Satyamev Jayate — truth shall prevail.”
Meanwhile, BJP leaders stepped up pressure to hand over the case to CBI, with Bihar’s Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi alleging that the Mumbai police was creating obstacle in the way of a fair investigation. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray urged fans of Sushant that they should not succumb to the Opposition’s politics.
“They (Mumbai Police) should be given adequate time the investigation. If after giving enough time, the police are unable to move ahead, then anyone can demand anything,” he said.