‘Sushant Singh Rajput called Rhea Chakraborty his family…’: What CBI said on ‘expenses’ in closure report
Sushant Singh Rajput's case closure report by CBI clears Rhea Chakraborty of any wrongdoing. His family deems the report incomplete and plans to move court.
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput had told his flatmate Sidharth Pithani that Rhea Chakraborty was “part of the family”, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said in its closure report, which rules out any evidence to suggest that the late actor was “illegally confined, threatened, or provocated/abetted to commit suicide” by her.
The agency has also found no proof that Rhea Chakraborty embezzled his money or belongings, people familiar with the matter said.
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Terming the report an eyewash and incomplete, Sushant Singh Rajput’s family and legal team have decided to challenge it in court. “This is nothing but an eyewash. If the CBI really wanted to come out with the truth, it would have submitted all the supporting case documents, including chats, technical records, statements of witnesses, medical records, etc. in the court along with the final (closure) report, which they have not done. We will file a protest petition against this closure report, which is based on a shoddy investigation,” said Varun Singh, the family’s lawyer.
The federal agency had filed two closure reports in March this year, one into a case registered by Sushant’s father, KK Singh, in Patna alleging that Rhea and her family drove his son to suicide and misused his funds, and another into a case filed by Rhea against Sushant’s sisters in Mumbai. The investigation had become one of India’s most polarising cases.
HT has exclusively accessed the details of the main closure report, which deals with allegations against Rhea; her parents, Indrajeet and Sandhya Chakraborty; brother, Showik; Sushant’s manager, Shruti Modi; and house manager, Samuel Miranda.
“Investigation revealed that Sushant had committed suicide. None of the accused persons had lived/stayed with him between June 8, 2020 and June 14, 2020 (the day he was found hanging in his Bandra flat). Rhea and her brother Showik left the house on June 8, and thereafter didn’t visit the house. Sushant had spoken to Showik on June 10 through WhatsApp at 1441 hours but had no conversations with Rhea between June 8 and June 14. Evidence had not come on record to show the meeting of Sushant with Rhea or any of her family members of being in touch by any other means. Shruti Modi had stopped visiting Sushant’s house since she fractured her leg in February. Furthermore, Meetu Singh (sister of Sushant) had stayed with him in his flat from June 8 to June 12,” said an officer, quoting the report.
“Therefore, no evidence of any immediate provocation/abetment by any of the accused person has come on record which may had led Sushant to commit suicide,” it adds.
On allegations of wrongful confinement, the report notes, “No evidence has come on record suggesting that Sushant was illegally confined or restrained in any manner by any of the accused or any other person.”
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Regarding charges of theft and embezzlement, the agency said, “When Rhea, along with her brother, left Sushant’s house on June 8, she took away her Apple laptop and Apple wristwatch which were gifted to her by Sushant. No evidence has emerged during investigation about any property dishonestly taken out of the possession of Sushant without his knowledge by Rhea or any other accused person.”
On financial allegations, the CBI noted that Sushant and Rhea were in a live-in relationship from April 2019 to June 2020, and that the actor’s chartered accountant and lawyer had proper oversight of his accounts.
Sushant took Rhea on a Europe trip in October 2019 for which bookings were made by his manager on his instructions, according to the CBI. “He even told Sidharth Pithani (Sushant’s flatmate) that Rhea was part of the family. Therefore, expenses on Rhea cannot be brought under the ambit of section 420 of Indian Penal Code. Further, the evidence doesn’t suggest/indicate any movable property being delivered to Rhea by inducing or deceiving Sushant”, the closure report states, according to the second officer.
The agency also said it found no signs of threat to Sushant from any of the accused, including in digital data. “The only allegation that has been levelled by the family of Sushant is that he told them that Rhea threatened to make his medical records public, in case he doesn’t toe her line. However, this evidence is in the realm of hearsay.”
Sushant’s family lawyer, advocate Varun Singh, said, “Simply saying Sushant Singh’s account has not been used to take out funds is not enough. The CBI should have provided the bank statement to back its claim. It’s a flimsy report, which won’t stand in the court of law.”
The case, which took on political dimensions in Bihar, also widened to include allegations of drug trafficking in the film industry. A Patna court is expected to take up the matter related to the closure report on December 20.
