Sushant Singh Rajput Had Googled His Name Hours Before Death: Mumbai Cops

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput was taking medication for bipolar disorder in the months before his death, it has emerged from doctors, according to the Mumbai Police. Sharing details of their investigation into the actor's death on June 14, the police said he had googled "painless death" and the name of his former manager Disha Salian - who died by suicide on June 8 - and a mental illness in his final days, and, in his last few hours, he had done searches on his own name.

The details have emerged from his mobile phone and laptop. The police said his Google searches revealed he may have been worried about speculation connecting him to Disha Salian, who died after a fall from the 14th floor of her building.

"It has come to surface that he had bipolar disorder, he was undergoing treatment and taking medicines for it. What circumstances led to his death is the subject of our investigation," Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh told the media.

Among the facts that had been clarified during investigations was that no party was held at Sushant Singh Rajput's apartment the night before his death, as initially reported.

Mr Singh also denied that any politician's name had come up in the investigation, as theories circulating on social media claimed. "There is no evidence against any politician from any party," he stressed.

Mr Singh also tackled questions about the perceived turf war with the Bihar police, which plunged into the Sushant Singh Rajput death investigations following his family's complaint against Rhea Chakraborty, who has been accused of cheating, transferring money from the actor's account and mentally harassing him.

The Bihar Police FIR, based on Sushant Singh's father's complaint, alleges that Rs 15 crore was siphoned off from the actor's account. But the Mumbai police countered that figure. "During the probe, we found he had Rs 18 crore in his account, of which around Rs 4.5 crore are still there. Till now, no direct transfer to Rhea Chakraborty's account has been found, we are still investigating," Mr Singh told reporters.

Rhea Chakraborty was among the 56 people questioned by the Mumbai police, which has been investigating allegations that Sushant Singh Rajput was driven to suicide because of intense rivalry and cliques in the film industry. On Friday, she broke her silence on what she called "horrible" allegations against her and said in a video statement "truth will prevail". 

"Her statement was recorded twice and she was called to the police station several times. I can't comment about her whereabouts," said the Mumbai police chief, responding to the Patna police team's claim that the actor could not be found.

Mr Singh also questioned the Bihar police inquiry, saying Sushant Singh's father, sister and brother-in-law recorded their statement on June 16, two days after his death, but never expressed any suspicion.

"All angles are being investigated, be it professional rivalry, financial transactions or health. We have taken his laptop and phone as technical evidence, we will look into everything," said Mr Singh.

(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.)
Helplines:
AASRA: 91-22-27546669 (24 hours)
Sneha Foundation: 91-44-24640050 (24 hours)
Vandrevala Foundation for Mental Health: 1860-2662-345 and 1800-2333-330 (24 hours)
iCall: 022-25521111 (Available from Monday to Saturday: 8:00am to 10:00pm)
Connecting NGO: 9922004305 and 9922001122 (Available from 12 pm - 8 pm)