In her first detailed response to the controversy surrounding the death of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput, his former girlfriend actor Rhea Chakraborty has denied all the allegations raised against her and her family.
In an interview with NDTV, Rhea said she had told Sushant's family about his depression but they ignored it. She categorically refuted Sushant's family's charge that she had isolated him from his family.
She urged Sushant's family to have some humanity if not for her, for him.
“It is really difficult. Me and my entire family going through scrutiny. There's a mob outside my gate. What are you doing to my family? Why can't you wait for results to come? We have faith in the system. That is why we are alive, else would have committed suicide. My father served in the army for 25 years and this is what is happening to him,” an emotional Rhea told the TV channel.
She said she did not fear that she would be arrested in the case relating to Sushant's death. “I am broken and am trying to find strength. The reason we are alive is because I am telling the truth. It is unfair and unjust. The whole nation believes things they believe based on absurd news,” she said.
On the charges that she used drugs, Rhea said, “I have never spoken to a dealer or taken drugs in my life. I am open to a blood test. Anything I say will be misconstrued.”
She said Sushant smoked marijuana and she tried her best to control him.
She also challenged the allegations that she took huge sums of money from him. “I never took a single rupee from him. I am being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. Sushant's bank statements are in public domain. We had a company where we were equal partners,” she said.
“The ED wants to know financial details. I am willing to cooperate with everyone. All I ask is for a fair trial by the media, people. You are breaking down a simple, innocent middle-class family.”
She said she was always ready for a CBI probe into the case. She also levelled some allegation against Sushant's sister Meetu who was allegedly with her during the week he died. “As much as I want to know the truth, why is no one talking about his sister Meetu who was with him that week? If he was unwell, why did she leave?”
She only had good words to describe the relationship she had with him. “I still cannot believe it. He was absolutely the best guy and the most beautiful person I have ever met. He wanted to do charity. He was the greatest boyfriend ever. He looked after me. He always advised me. I was proud of him, of how much he has achieved coming from a small town. We bonded over this. Since I am also an outsider and have grown up all across India. Our relationship was like a movie, like a fairy tale. But yes, we had problems.”
Rising Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14. The actor's father KK Singh has filed a case against Ms Chakraborty accusing her of mentally harassing him, taking his money and driving him to suicide. A First Information Report (FIR) in Patna named Rhea Chakraborty, her parents, brother Showik, Sushant's former manager Shruti Modi and Samuel Miranda, along with others. The CBI began its probe based on Sushant Singh Rajput's family's allegations after a Supreme Court order last week.