#FACTCHECK: The Sushant Singh Rajput case

It’s been two weeks, but the speculations refuse to die down. We attempt to break down the black, white and the grey surrounding Sushant’s death

THE QUESTIONS AND ALLEGATIONS
1. ‘Contradictions in reports about suicide’
Ever since Sushant’s death, many have raised questions about the case and asked for a thorough investigation. Sushant’s maternal uncle, RC Singh, told the media that he feels there was a conspiracy behind his death.
> A widely-discussed social media post claimed that a person who can support his body weight with his hands cannot die by hanging.In the tweets, which are now deleted, the person said that the “ring along the neck is not slanted. No saliva outside mouth, tongue and eyeball normal., they are not out (sic).” According to the post, “there were only 3 people in the house and all three said that Sushant was hanging with the help of curtain. But the mark made on his neck is of a plastic rope (sic).”
> In the beginning, there were multiple versions in the media as well if the actor used a curtain, kurta or a bedsheet, leading to confusion. There were reports that claimed that the police also found a bathrobe belt, torn into two parts, lying on the floor. There are divergent reports about whether the door to Sushant’s room was broken down or whether a locksmith was called to open it when he didn’t answer.
> WhatsApp forwards claimed that Sushant had a party at his house the night before and was playing an online game hours before the incident. It also claimed that the CCTV of his building wasn’t working that night and it was suspicious that the actor didn’t leave a suicide note.
2. ‘He succumbed to professional pressure’
Many of Sushant’s fans and associates within the industry have cited the ‘insider-outsider’ theory, professional pressure and bullying as some of the reasons that could have led to Sushant’s suicide.
> In a tweet, politician Sanjay Nirupam claimed that Sushant lost seven films in six months and the industry’s “ruthlessness took the life of one talented person.” Abhishek Kapur, who had worked with Sushant in two films, termed the actor’s treatment by the film fraternity a “systematic dismantling of a fragile mind”. Meanwhile, director Shekhar Kapur, whose YRF-backed film 'Paani' with Sushant was shelved, tweeted, “I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people that let you down so bad that you would weep on my shoulder.”

> A few days after Sushant’s demise, a police case was filed by lawyer Sudhir Kumar Ojha in a Bihar court against eight people, including Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Salman Khan, Ekta Kapoor and Aditya Chopra. “In the complaint, I have alleged that Sushant Singh Rajput was removed from around seven films and some of his films were not released. Such a situation was created which forced him to take the extreme step,” Ojha said.
>Sushant Singh Rajput’s cousin Niraj Kumar Bablu said, “As far as the case is concerned, there are big personalities in the industry, who have spoken about the behaviour of Bollywood with Sushant. So, we definitely feel that there was some pressure on him from Bollywood.”
3. ‘Sushant had relationship troubles’
Some have been speculating that Sushant was having trouble in his personal life.
> Sushant was reportedly in a relationship with Rhea Chakraborty. A report claims that apparently she had a spat with Sushant a few days before his death and moved out. Suhrita, a work associate of Rhea’s, wrote in an FB post that the two had problems because of Sushant’s mental health issues. She has also been quoted as saying that Rhea broke up with him.

> A report claimed that Sushant’s psychiatrist apparently said that Sushant regretted breaking up with former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande.
4. ‘Sushant’s death is related to the recent showbiz suicide cases’
A conspiracy theory circulating on social media suggests that there is some link between four recent suicides in the showbiz industry, the last being Sushant’s. These include the suicides of TV actors Manmeet Grewal and Preksha Mehta and Sushant’s former manager Disha Salian, who died a few days before him.
5. ‘Social media accounts being tampered with’


There have been reports of changes in Sushant’s social media accounts since his death. The number of accounts being followed by the actor’s Instagram account reduced. This has been questioned by MP Roopa Ganguly as well. Nilotpal, a family friend of the actor, has sent a letter to the police, urging them to interrogate Sandip Ssingh (the actor’s close friend and film producer) over allegedly deleted posts. He has requested the police to have Sandip’s phone checked to find out if he has tampered with Sushant’s social media accounts.
WHAT WE CAN VERIFY SO FAR
1. Suicide suspected, haven’t come to final conclusion yet: Police
Sushant’s detailed post-mortem report says he died by “asphyxia due to hanging”. The final report said, “No signs of any struggle before death, nothing found from his nails”. DCP Abhishek Trimukhe of Mumbai Police told BT, “We are investigating the case from every
angle and haven’t come to a final conclusion. Abhi tak ka jo investigation hai uss basis par maine jaankaari di hai. Jo doctors ka kehna hai... normally, koi kisi ko maarta hai toh struggle marks hote hain, jo nahi hai. So, we suspect that it’s a suicide. However, we have not completed our investigation, and it’s still on.”

In a recent media briefing he had said, “We have received the detailed post-mortem report, which was conducted by a team of five doctors. The actor’s cause of death has been clearly stated by the doctors as asphyxia due to hanging. The rest of the samples collected have been sent for analysis. We have requested the forensic team to conduct the analysis on a priority basis. The police are probing every angle in the case.”
2. Probing professional angle, looking at his contracts: Police
Police have not yet come to a conclusion on this issue and they are probing whether professional rivalry or any kind of pressure due to his work dealings was responsible for the actor’s extreme step.
> Maharashtra Home Minister tweeted on June 15, “While the post mortem report says actor @itsSSR committed suicide by hanging himself, there are media reports that he allegedly suffered from clinical depression because of professional rivalry. @MumbaiPolice will probe this angle too.”

> 27 people have been questioned by the police in the case till now. Mukesh Chhabra, who directed the late actor’s last film 'Dil Bechara', friend and owner of a celeb management company Rohini Iyer, friend and supposed flatmate Siddharth Pithani, Aashish Singh, Director-Original Films at Netflix and formerly of YRF, 'Dil Bechara' co-star Sanjana Sanghi and filmmaker and friend Sandip Ssingh are among those who have been questioned.
> Sushant’s work contracts are being looked at closely, as part of the investigation. Last week, Yash Raj Films (YRF) had submitted to the police copies of the contract signed by the late actor for their projects. DCP Trimukhe said, “Initially, unka jab career shuruat hua, unko kuch movies mil chuki thi, uske baad Yash Raj ke saath unhone contract sign kiya tha. Unke kya terms of business thay, kaise woh contract handle hua, kya hua, iss baare mein police investigate kar rahi hai.” On Saturday, casting director Shanoo Sharma, who works with YRF, was questioned. Sushant has been a part of two films made by the banner – 'Shuddh Desi Romance' (2013) and Detective 'Byomkesh Bakshy!' (2015). According to a report, representatives of more production houses are likely to be called by the police for questioning.
> On the work front, Sushant had several projects in hand. Besides a film directed by Rumy Jafry that was to co-star Rhea Chakraborty, Sushant was said to be in talks for Sandip Ssingh’s directorial debut 'Vande Bharatam', Oscar winner Resul Pookutty’s film titled 'Sarpakal' and a movie with filmmaker Anand Gandhi. His upcoming film, 'Dil Bechara', will soon have an OTT release.
3. ‘Sushant was planning to get married’
According to reports, Rhea in her statement to the police said that the two were planning to settle down by the end of 2020. Rhea and Sushant were all set to work together for the first time as well in a film directed by Rumy Jafry, who said that he last spoke to the two in the first week of June and had no idea about any issue between them.

> A cousin of Sushant’s confirmed to media that the actor was to get married this year. Another report quoted Sushant and Rhea’s broker who said that the two were looking for a house to live in and had revealed their marriage plans.
>Sushant’s psychiatrist rubbished reports about Sushant regretting his break-up with Ankita Lokhande. In a post, he wrote that he had “not even made a statement” as that would be unethical and would break client-therapist confidentiality.
4. No link between the suicides: Police
Talking about the speculation of any possible link between Sushant and Disha’s deaths, DCP Trimukhe said, “It’s just a theory. I have spoken to the concerned DCP where Disha Salian’s suicide has taken place, but there is no link between the two. Yes, Disha Salian had met Sushant once and in the last phase, he was managed by Uday. Disha was in Uday’s team and working for Sushant. Besides that, there is no link.” No verifiable link could be established between the two TV actors and Sushant either.
5. Family is maintaining Sushant’s handles
Sushant’s Instagram account was memorialised last week. In a statement released recently, the family said, “From now on, we intend to maintain his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook page as legacy accounts to keep his memories alive.” As per Instagram’s policy, no changes can be made in a memorialised account. However, the number of accounts being followed by Sushant’s handle did reduce post his account being memorialised – something which has not been explained clearly yet.