The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Wednesday, carried out searches at locations linked to filmmaker Dinesh Vijan in connection with their ongoing probe in the money laundering case associated with death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Vijan had been questioned by the agency last month in connection with the case. Vijan directed the film Raabta starring Rajput. The anti money laundering agency is probing certain financial transactions between the filmmaker and the late actor. Despite repeated attempts, Vijan was not available for a comment..
Raabta hit the screens on June 9 in 2017 in which Rajput starred along with Kirti Sanon in the lead role. Vijan has produced hit films like Love Aaj Kal, Cocktail, Badlapur, Go Goa Gone, and Being Cyrus.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken over the probe from Bihar Police into the alleged abetment to suicide case filed by the actor's father KK Singh in Patna against Rajput's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family. Chakraborty has been denying all the allegations. The ED too registered a case on July 31 on the basis of Bihar Police’s FIR to probe a possible money laundering angle.
Singh alleged that Rs 15 crore was siphoned off from the actor’s Kotak Mahindra Bank account. The agency is probing the case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED has till date recorded the statements of several persons, including Rhea Chakraborty, her father Indrajit, brother Showik, Sushant's sister Mitu Singh; Sushant's ex-manager and Rhea's manager Shruti Modi, Sushant's house manager Samuel Miranda, actor's flatmate Siddharth Pithani, Chartered Accountant Sandeep Sridhar and Rhea's CA Ritesh Shah in connection with the case.
The probe into the death case of Rajput has now snowballed into multiple agencies probing allegations of abetment of suicide, drugs procurement and money laundering. The 34-year-old actor, who was from Purnea in Bihar, was found dead in his Bandra flat in Mumbai on June 14.
