Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Meetu Singh reached the Enforcement Directorate’s office on Tuesday afternoon in connection with probe related to alleged money laundering in the case involving her brother’s death.
She is the first member of Rajput’s family who has been called for questioning by the ED. Singh was called by Mumbai Police five times, had never produced herself before the investigators for recording her statement.
Sources in the ED said that the agency expects Singh, a Goregaon resident, to put light on some of his brother’s financial activities related to his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, who is the prime accused in the money laundering case.
Singh was among the few people who had first reached Rajput’s residence on June 14 on hearing that the actor is not opening the door of his room. She had also accompanied the police team to Lonavala farmhouse which Rajput would often give on rent.
Besides Singh, the ED is also questioning Rajput’s former manager and Chakraborty’s present manager Shruti Modi and Rajput’s friend and roommate Sidhharth Pithani. The two were also questioned previously on two occasions.
ED’s investigation is focused around Chakraborty’s income, expenditures, investments and business and professional deals. Details of her properties in Khar and Navi Mumbai and dealings of her companies established jointly with Rajput, were also under scrutiny. The ED is also scanning through Rhea’s phone call details and her WhatsApp chats with Rajput. They also wish to retrieve deleted messages of chat between Chakraborty and Rajput suspecting she might have deleted those messages which could explain some suspicious financial transactions.
Chakraborty had initially refused to appear before the agency, citing her appeal pending before the Supreme Court, but later produced herself before the agency on Friday and again on Monday.
Her statements were recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED has focused the probe on Chakraborty’s income which they suspect is not matching with her expenses.
During previous questioning, Chakraborty, while responding to ED investigators about the details of Khar flat, had claimed that she took around Rs 60 lakh home loan for the property worth Rs 84 lakh. Chakraborty had said that she managed to arrange rest of the amount on her own and made the payment through cheques in phases, the officials said. ED investigators also probing if any money laundering linked to two Navi Mumbai-based companies Chakraborty and her brother Shovik had formed with Rajput.
Chakraborty has so far maintained that she did not siphon of anyone’s money, the officials said.
The ED filed a case on July 31 on the basis of a first information report (FIR) by the Bihar Police. The FIR was registered after a complaint by Rajput’s father KK Singh who accused Chakraborty and her family of abetting the Bollywood actor’s suicide and siphoning of his money.
Singh claimed that close to Rs 15 crore were transferred from Rajput’s account to unknown people not linked to him. He said that his son’s credit cards were with Chakraborty.
Alongside ED, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), too, has launched a probe on the request of the Bihar government and has named Chakraborty, her brother and four other family members, apart from unknown people, as accused.
