Mumbai: Actor Rhea Chakraborty, accused by her boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput’s family of driving him to suicide, on Tuesday came out with stunning new charges against them.
In a lengthy statement released by her lawyer, Ms Chakraborty said she has complied with every single request from agencies investigating the 34-year-old Bollywood star’s death.
Calling herself the “daughter of an Indian Army surgeon and a Maharashtrian housewife”, she said the charges against her were “total nonsense”.
She traced the bad blood with Sushant Singh’s family to April 2019 when one night, while she was living with the actor, his sister allegedly slipped into her bed and groped her while drunk.
“Rhea was extremely shocked and demanded that she leave the room immediately. Subsequently, Rhea herself left the house,” the statement said.
“Thereafter, Rhea informed Sushant as to what had transpired and Sushant got into an argument with his sister regarding the same. That due to the aforesaid incident, the relationship between Sushant’s family and Rhea had been strained since inception,” it added.
The allegation, however, was firmly denied by the lawyer presenting Sushant Singh’s father, who said the actor regretted getting involved with Rhea Chakraborty and apologised to the sisters for it.
Rhea Chakraborty also claimed that Sushant Singh Rajput had been trying for days to get his family to come and meet him before his death and one of his sisters agreed to it “after several days of Sushant calling and crying over the phone”.
“Due to this development, Sushant requested Rhea to live with her parents for the time being. Rhea had been suffering from her own anxiety issues and often endured panic attacks. Sushant’s conduct also aggravated these conditions. Even though Rhea was desirous of seeing her family, she was not at all comfortable with leaving Sushant,” the statement said.
“Thus Rhea reluctantly left and informed Sushant to let her or her brother know about anything he required or in case he needed to talk,” it added.
Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14. The Mumbai Police said the promising young actor had died by suicide and began investigating industry rivalries and depression as probable causes.
More than a month later, his father KK Singh filed a case in Bihar, accusing 28-year-old Rhea Chakraborty and her family of cheating him financially and mentally harassing him.
The complaint has spawned two separate investigations by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate, which probes financial crimes, and a legal wrangle in the Supreme Court over jurisdiction.
“The comments made at the last hearing before the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the 11th of August 2020, make it evident that this has become more about politics than the truth. Unwanted and irrelevant submissions are being made. The number of politicians taking advantage of this case on the eve of elections in Bihar,” Rhea Chakraborty’s statement said.
