SSR case: Rhea appears before ED after request was rejected
What's the story
Actor Rhea Chakraborty on Friday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the agency's Mumbai office in connection with a money laundering case related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death. She arrived at the ED office shortly after the agency turned down her request to defer her questioning in the matter. Here are more details on this.
Details
Rhea had sought time; ED rejected her request
Citing an ongoing Supreme Court hearing on her petition, Rhea had requested ED to defer her questioning in the matter, her lawyer Satish Maneshinde said earlier today. Rhea's petition in the SC seeks transfer of an FIR, filed against her by Sushant's family, from Bihar to Mumbai. However, ED rejected her plea, and said it would issue fresh summons if she didn't show up.
Case
ED filed money laundering case based on FIR in Bihar
On July 25, Sushant's father, KK Singh, filed an FIR against Rhea, accusing her of fraud and abetting the late actor's alleged suicide. In the police complaint, it was also alleged that Rs. 15 crore were suspiciously transferred from Sushant's bank accounts. Based on that allegation, the ED, which probes financial crimes, swung into action and filed a money laundering case.
Information
ED has also summoned Shruti Modi and Siddharth Pithani
Thus far, the ED officials have questioned Sushant's as well as Rhea's Chartered Accountants. On Wednesday and Thursday, they interrogated Samuel Miranda, a member of Sushant's house staff. They have now issued summons to the late actor's former business manager Shruti Modi and his friend Siddharth Pithani for questioning. Both of them are expected to record their statement this week.
Investigations
Mumbai and Bihar Police have been investigating case
Sushant, aged 34, a rising Bollywood star, was found dead at his Mumbai apartment on June 14. The police said it was suicide. Thereafter, the case was handed over to Mumbai Police, which has interrogated over 50 people so far. After KK Singh's complaint in Bihar, a four-member team of Patna Police also arrived in Mumbai to probe the matter. They have since returned.
Information
Patna SP Vinay Tiwari released from quarantine in Mumbai
Meanwhile, the BMC (Mumbai's civic body) has allowed Patna (Central) SP Vinay Tiwari to be released from quarantine. Earlier, the BMC's decision to quarantine the IPS officer had triggered a huge political row. Tiwari, who had arrived Mumbai on August 2, will reportedly leave today.
CBI
Case against Rhea has been transferred to the CBI
On Wednesday, the Central government appointed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the country's top investigating agency, to probe the case against Rhea and others. The investigating agency has since filed an FIR against Rhea, her family members, and others. In fact, a special investigation team (SIT) of CBI, that previously investigated high-profile crimes like Vijay Mallya's case, will take charge of this case.
Response
Totally illegal, Rhea said about the CBI probe
Rhea, who herself had earlier sought a CBI inquiry into Sushant's death case, has now said that the top agency should stay away from the case until the SC hearing on her plea is completed. She said in a statement that the ongoing CBI probe is, "totally illegal and beyond any known legal principles, affecting the federal structure of the nation (sic)."