Bihar govt moves SC, opposes Rhea's plea for transfer of FIR to Mumbai

NEW DELHI: Deceased actor Shushant Singh Rajput's father Krushna Kishor Singh and Bihar government moved the Supreme Court separately to oppose actor Rhea Chakroborty's petition seeking transfer of Singh's FIR lodged at Patna to Mumbai, where city police is inquiring into suicidal death of Rajput under allegedly suspicious circumstances.
Following Singh's caveat in the SC, the Bihar government through standing counsel Keshav Mohan filed caveats requesting the SC not to pass any orders on Chakraborty's petition without hearing them on the merits of the case.Singh had lodged an FIR at Patna accusing Chakraborty and her family of abetting Rajput's suicide allegedly by constricting him mentally and financially. The state government has decided to engage senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi in the case.
On Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde, and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian dismissed a PIL filed by two women - a Patna based motivational speaker and freelance writer, and US-based Indian professor of clinical medicine - seeking CBI probe into Rajput's alleged suicidal death.
Petitioners through advocate SR Setia argued that Bollywood has become a haunted place for newcomers from middle-class backgrounds without a godfather. They cited the suicidal deaths of actors Guru Dutt, Silk Smitha, Nafisa Joseph, model-turned television actor Kuljeet Randhawa, Kunal Singh, British-American actor Jiah Khan, Kushal Punjabi and now Rajput. The petitioners - Alka Priya and Sindhu Singh - sought a probe into the entire Bollywood activities, apart from the death of Rajput under mysterious circumstances, to bring it under the rule of law.
However, the CJI-led bench questioned the locus standi of the petitioners and said, "Mumbai police is already investigating into the case. If you want a proper investigation, you can go before the Bombay High Court."
Chakraborty in her petition said she was in a live-in relationship with Rajput for a year till June 8, when she left for her home. "Deceased was suffering from depression for some time and was also on anti-depressants and he committed suicide on June 14 at his Bandra residence," she said.
She said the Mumbai police, inquiring into the suicide, has already recorded her statement after questioning her several times. She said she moved SC for transfer of Patna FIR to Mumbai as Bihar police have no jurisdiction to inquire into the case as the cause of action was in Mumbai. "Chakraborty is being illegally roped in... She has received death and rape threats and is in deep trauma due to death of Rajput, which has multiplied further due to media sensitivity to the case," her petition said.