Sushant Singh Rajput had died by suicide at his Mumbai apartment in June, the police said.
The investigation into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death flared into a tug of war between the Bihar and Mumbai Police on Friday while the Enforcement Directorate, which probes financial crimes, filed a money laundering case against his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, also an actor, and her family. The clamour for transferring the police probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also grew while Ms Chakraborty issued a statement on video, refuting the allegations against her, saying, "Truth will prevail".
Here are the 10 latest developments in the Sushant Singh Rajput case:
Actor Rhea Chakraborty, accused by Sushant Singh Rajput's family of cheating and harassment, broke her silence Friday and released a tearful video, saying, "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 on the advice of my lawyers as the matter is sub-judice."
Her statement came hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it had registered a money laundering case based on the First Information Report or FIR filed by Sushant Singh Rajput's father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty and her family that mentions a "suspicious" transaction of Rs 15 crore. Ms Chakraborty and some others are expected to be called for questioning in the case soon, sources in the agency said.
Mr Singh has accused Ms Chakraborty of befriending his son in May 2019 to advance her own career. He also sought to invoke the provisions of the Mental Health Care Act, alleging that the "machinations" of Ms Chakraborty and her family members had caused his son to "crack up", despite a successful career in films, and ultimately drove him to commit suicide.
Meanwhile, a face-off between Mumbai Police, which had launched its investigation last month, and Patna Police, which is following the complaint filed by KK Singh, came to the fore. Cops from Bihar, who have camped in Mumbai for the past three days, insisted they would follow the money trail. Mumbai Police sources have, however, told NDTV that the family made no mention of suspicions of or allegations about Ms Chakraborty and Mr Rajput's finances when they first met top officers after the actor's death.
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan joined the demand for a CBI probe into Sushant Singh Rajput's death, saying only the central agency can do justice in the matter amid the tussle between Bihar and Mumbai police. Several other politicians from Bihar have made similar demands. Rhea Chakraborty too had requested for a CBI probe earlier this month.
Leaders in the two states also clashed over the probe with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday accusing the Mumbai Police of not cooperating with the state's investigators. Maharashtra minister Jayant Patil, however, backed the Mumbai Police, saying they will complete the probe soon.
The Bihar government on Friday said that it will oppose a petition filed by Rhea Chakraborty in the Supreme Court, challenging the jurisdiction of the Patna Police in the case and requesting the probe to be transferred to Mumbai.
Sushant Singh Rajput's former girlfriend, TV actor Ankita Lokhande also spoke out on the controversy on Friday, saying that the actor had an admirable zest for life and she could never believe that he ended his own life because of depression.
Also speaking out on the issue, Siddharth Pithani, a friend and flatmate of Sushant Singh Rajput, wrote to the Mumbai Police, alleging that the family members of actor forced him to give a statement against Rhea Chakraborty, news agency PTI reported.
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, had died by suicide at his Mumbai apartment in June, according to the city police, which is investigating allegations that the actor was suffering from depression and had been pushed over the edge after being sidelined in the film industry because of nepotism and cliques.
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