ED questions Rhea for 9 hours in Sushant's case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned actor Rhea Chakraborty for over eight hours on Friday in a money-laundering case it has registered regarding the Bollywood celebrity Sushant Singh Raput's suspected suicide on June 14.
The 28-year-old Chakraborty, Rajput's girlfriend at the time of his death, attained the agency's office in Balard Estate area around 11:50am after her request to defer the questioning was rejected. She left the ED office around 8:45pm.
The agency, which investigates money laundering and forex violations, questioned Chakraborty's brother, Showik, and her business manager, Shruti Modi, who also worked for Rajput.Their statements were recorded beneath the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Requesting anonymity, ED officials aware of the facts said the agency was looking into Chakraborty's income tax returns and investments. The officials said Chakraborty taken care of immediately most of the questions. ED is likely to concentrate on Chakraborty's income, business deals and professional deals.
A property located in the Khar area of Mumbai can be being probed by ED for the source of its purchase and ownership. Chakraborty told interrogators that she took around Rs 60 lakh mortgage loan for the property worth Rs 84 lakh, in line with the officials.When ED officials asked her about the rest of the amount, she said she were able to arrange the rest on her own and made the payment through cheques, the officials said.
.Investigators also tried to obtain additional information into the formation of four companies by Rajput, Chakraborty and her family. While two of these companies were registered, all of those other two were beneath the process of getting registered.She said she didn't siphon of anyone's money, the officials said.
"She's been examined and her statement... (has been) recorded... She's always cooperated with investigations with police and ED. She's nothing to cover up. In the case she's called again, she'll appear at the appointed time," Satish Maneshinde, her legal professional and senior counsel, said.
The Bihar Police have handed over their case files to CBI amid a jurisdictional dispute with the Maharashtra Police, who've filed an accidental death report (ADR)."Rhea Chakraborty is a law-abiding citizen. In view of the fact that ED has informed the media that the request to postpone the attendance is rejected, she appeared before the ED at the appointed time and date," Maneshinde, said in a statement earlier in the day.
Chakraborty initially refused to appear prior to the agency, citing her appeal pending prior to the Supreme Court. She's requested that the FIR filed in Patna be used in Mumbai, arguing that Bihar Police haven't any jurisdiction. Bihar rejected the claim.Rajput's roommate, Siddharth Pithani, too has been called by ED to seem on Saturday, PTI reported.
Pithani, an IT professional stated to be coping with Rajput for approximately a year, is explained to be out of Mumbai and he has said in news channel interviews that he was present in the Bandra flat on June 14, when the 34-year-old actor hanged himself.The agency has recently questioned Rajput's chartered accountant (CA), Sandeep Shridhar, and his house manager and staffer, Samuel Miranda, twice in the event.
