The death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has unfortunately taken place at a time when Bihar is poll-bound and thus, the case has been "blown out of proportion", actor Rhea Chakraborty told the Supreme Court on Monday. The actress, who is alleged to be one of the prime accused in abetting the death of Sushant, further said that she has been the victim of a "media trial", with a section of media continuously invading her privacy and levelling allegations against her.
Rhea has filed an additional affidavit in response to the contentions of the Bihar and Maharashtra governments, as also the Union government, before the apex court which is examining her petition for transferring the FIR lodged by Sushant's father in Patna.
The top court is likely to hear that matter on August 18.
"The sad incident of the death of Sushant, who hailed from Bihar, unfortunately occurred just in the wake of elections in Bihar. This has led to the issue of the suicide of the deceased being isolated and blown out of proportion," Rhea said in her affidavit filed through her counsel Satish Maneshinde.
The affidavit further pointed out that after Sushant, at least two actors -- Ashutosh Bhakre, 32, and Sameer Sharma, 44, -- have committed suicide. "Yet, there is no whisper about the same in power corridors. In the case of the death of Sushant, the chief minister of Bihar is reported to be responsible for registration of the FIR in Patna," she has claimed.
In her affidavit, Rhea has also accused a section of media for attempting to convict her in the case.
"The issue has been blown out of proportion in media. A few media channels are examining and cross-examining all the witnesses in the case. I am already convicted by the media even before foul play in the death of Sushant has been established," Rhea has said, adding that this has caused her extreme trauma.
"Infringement of the privacy of my rights is caused due to the constant sensationalisation of this case. The media had convicted the accused in the 2G and Talwar case in similar fashion, where each and every accused was subsequently found to be innocent by the courts," the affidavit reads.
Rhea has further accused the BJP of purposely trying to render her transfer petition in the SC infructuous by highlighting the manner in which the Bihar government lodged an FIR and later on transferred it to the CBI, instead of Mumbai Police, which alone has a jurisdiction in the matter.
"The fact that the ruling party in Bihar and the Centre (BJP) is the same and the said party is in minority in Maharashtra; the purported transfer of the case to the magistrate in Patna and further to the CBI is only to render my transfer plea infructuous," Rhea has alleged.
The affidavit further goes on to trash the CBI and Bihar government's stand that the residence of the complainant -- i.e. Sushant's father in the present case -- cannot be considered while transferring the case.
"Residence of Sushant's father at Patna is no ground in law to usurp jurisdiction and forward the case to the magistrate at Patna. At the highest an FIR can be registered and the same is required to be forwarded to the magistrate having jurisdiction over the matter – in Mumbai," the affidavit reads.
It further states that since Bihar has no jurisdiction, the subsequent FIRs registered by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which had quizzed Rhea for hours, are bad in law and are illegal.
"Investigation into financial scams of thousands of crores by Enforcement Directorate & CBI never see the light of the day and at drop of a hat, cases gets registered even without there being a jurisdiction in the foundational case," she has claimed.
