How deaths of Sushant Singh Rajput, Disha Salian snowballed into a political issue

Mumbai: The closure report into the investigation involving the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput marks the culmination of a political issue that saw two Indian states, Maharashtra and Bihar, in an unprecedented standoff.

However, the case involving the death of the actor’s former talent manager, Disha Salian, remains open.

Sushant, known popularly as SSR (34), born January 21, 1986, who had acted in Bollywood films such as M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Kedarnath (2018), and Chhichhore (2019), was found dead on June 14, 2020, at his rented duplex flat in the Mont Blanc building at Bandra, where he was found hanging from a ceiling fan.

Sushant, who died by suicide, was survived by his father, Krishna Kishore Singh, and four sisters: Nitu Singh aka Rani, Meetu Singh, Priyanka Singh, and Shweta Singh Kirti.

Disha (28), a celebrity and talent manager, reportedly died by suicide by jumping from the 14th floor of the Galaxy Regent building at Malad in the far western suburbs of Mumbai on the intervening night of June 8, 2020, days ahead of Sushant's death.

Disha is survived by her father, Satish Salian, and mother, Vasanti Salian.

The twin incidents took place during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and attracted significant media attention, with several BJP leaders, particularly former CM and then Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane and his son Nitesh Rane, who is now a minister, claiming that both cases were linked.

Just a few months prior, in November 2019, the 30-year alliance between the BJP and Shiv Sena broke, and Uddhav Thackeray became the CM, heading the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The Bandra police station in Mumbai registered an accidental death report (ADR) in the SSR case. However, following the first information report (FIR) registered by the actor’s father, Krishna Kishore Singh in Bihar, and the growing demand for a detailed probe and request by the Bihar government, the Supreme Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

On August 19, 2020, the CBI formally took over the case, and then the Enforcement Directorate (ED) joined in to probe the financial angle, while the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was roped in to investigate the drugs angle.

Rajput’s family blamed the actor’s live-in partner, Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, his friend and assistant director Rishikesh Pawar, house manager Samuel Miranda, and house help Dipesh Sawant – and all were arrested by the federal anti-drug agency. A total of 33 have been chargesheeted by the NCB.

The Thackeray-led MVA, comprising the undivided Shiv Sena, the undivided Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and the Congress, had a significant confrontation with the Nitish Kumar government of Bihar. IPS officer Vinay Tiwari, who was sent by the Bihar government, was quarantined in Mumbai, escalating the standoff. Then Bihar Police chief Gupteshwar Pandey, who took VRS and set out to join electoral politics, had criticised the Maharashtra government, which was unprecedented.

Then Home Minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh, reacting to the development, said: “When I was the Home Minister, Mumbai Police conducted an inquiry. Their report stated that Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide; he was not murdered. Such a report was submitted by Mumbai Police. There were Bihar elections, so there was a political angle. After that, Sushant Singh Rajput's father lodged an FIR in Patna, alleging that Rhea Chakraborty embezzled Rs 15 crores. A CBI inquiry was conducted, and it revealed two things: that Sushant Singh Rajput was not murdered but died by suicide, and that Rhea Chakraborty did not embezzle Rs 15 crores, not even a rupee.”

As far as Disha’s case is concerned, it was investigated by the Mumbai Police, which concluded it as an accident. However, after the 2022 change in government, an SIT was formed. Now, Disha’s father has moved the Bombay High Court seeking a probe. The court is expected to hear the matter this week.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said: “All those who doubted the Mumbai Police's investigation on SSR and welcomed Bihar Police team to cater to a bloodthirsty media and then welcomed CBI, should feel some remorse. The CBI closure report took 5 years but surely exposed agenda bearers.”

Congress leader Sachin Sawant said the BJP's dirty politics of eating butter from the scalp of the dead has backfired. "The BJP misused the death of Sushant Singh Rajput to defame the MVA government and to achieve success in the Bihar elections. Not only this, a zero FIR was registered in Bihar in violation of the CrPC and the case was transferred to the CBI. This also violated the law. Three investigation agencies were set up. The world-class Mumbai police were defamed."

He added, "Lakhs of fake accounts were created overnight on social media and many stories were made up to create a picture of Sushant being murdered and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government suppressing it. Until recently, the topic of Sushant Singh was constantly trending on social media. It has been several months since the AIIMS reported, but the CBI has remained silent for four and a half years."