ED questions Sushant Singh Rajput's friend, business manager
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned Sushant Singh Rajput's friend and roommate Siddharth Pithani and the late actor's business manager Shruti Modi in connection with a money laundering case linked to his death.
Pithani and Modi arrived at the office of the central probe agency in the Ballard Estate area around 11 am in response to their scheduled summons, officials said.
Both of them were questioned by the agency on Monday and their statements were recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Shruti Modi was questioned last week too.
Pithani, an IT professional, had told various news channels that he was present in the Bandra flat on June 14 when the 34-year-old actor allegedly hanged himself.
Pithani, who Rajput used to call 'Buddha', is stated to be living with Rajput for about a year, and had earlier recorded his statement with the Mumbai Police as part of its accidental death report (ADR) probe in the case.
On Monday, the ED questioned the prime accused in the case, actor Rhea Chakraborty (28), for about nine hours. She has been questioned for around 18-19 hours till now.
Her father Indrajit Chakraborty and brother Showik have also been questioned for varied lengths of time earlier. The ED is also expected to question one of Rajput's three sisters in this case on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Rhea, her family and a friend of Rajput are expected to be called in for questioning again.
The ED had also questioned the chartered accountants (CAs) of Rhea and Rajput and the deceased actor's house manager Samuel Miranda in the past.
The agency is understood to have questioned Rhea, who stated in her petition to the Supreme Court that she was in a live-in relationship with Rajput, about her friendship with the late actor, business dealings and the developments that took place over the last few years between them.
The ED's line of questioning, officials said, is revolving around Rhea's income, investments, business and professional deals, and links.
Also under the ED's scanner is a property located in the city's Khar area and another in Raigad district of the state, both linked to Rhea, for the source of purchase and ownership.
Agency sources have said they "want more answers" from Rhea over the alleged mismatch between her income, expenditure and investments.
They said while Rhea has filed Income Tax Returns stating an income of about Rs 18 lakh in the recent past, the value of her investments is reportedly higher.
Her father, they said, is a retired defence personnel who gets a pension of around Rs one lakh per month.
The sources said Rhea told the agency that she had made the property investments from her income, savings and has also taken bank loans.
Rhea has been accused by Rajput's father of abetting his son's suicide and she had initially refused to appear before the agency citing her appeal pending before the Supreme Court that is slated to be heard on Tuesday.
Her lawyer Satish Maneshinde had said Rhea is a law-abiding citizen and would cooperate with the probe.
She has filed a petition in the apex court requesting that the case lodged by the Bihar Police against her be transferred to the Mumbai police.
Rhea, through her lawyer, also shared a picture of a note on Saturday which she claimed was written by Rajput to express his gratitude towards her and her family.
She also shared a photograph of a water sipper, which is a piece of movie merchandise from Rajput's 2019 film "Chhichhore".
"The only property of Sushant that I possess," she said in a message sent along with the photo to the media.
The ED, during the questioning sessions, is learnt to have confronted Rhea, Showik and Modi with certain bank statements that purportedly show transfer of small amounts into Showik's accounts from those of Rajput and Chakraborty.
Rajput's 74-year-old father K K Singh, who resides in Patna, had on July 25 filed a complaint with the Patna police against Rhea, her parents (including mother Sandhya Chakraborty), Showik, Rajput's manager Samuel Miranda, Shruti Modi and unknown persons accusing them of cheating and abetting his son's suicide.
The CBI had re-registered this FIR as a fresh case on Thursday and named as accused the same people. Singh also alleged financial irregularities in bank accounts of his son.
In the complaint, Singh alleged that an amount of Rs 15 crore was siphoned off from Rajput's bank account in one year to accounts of persons not known or connected to the late actor.
Under the ED's scanner are also at least two companies linked to Rajput and some financial deals involving Rhea, her father and Showik, who are stated to be directors in these companies.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Jaishankar holds talks with Russia's Lavrov; trade, geopolitics top agenda
New Delhi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held "productive" talks on Wednesday to advance bilateral cooperation in energy and trade amid shifting geopolitical tensions.
Jaishankar met Lavrov, shortly after the Russian foreign minister landed in New Delhi to attend a two-day conclave of the BRICS member states beginning Thursday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and South Africa's Minister for International Relations Ozzy Lamola are among those who already arrived in the national capital for the BRICS foreign ministerial meeting.
Jaishankar and Lavrov are learnt to have deliberated on the West Asia crisis as well as the Ukraine conflict.
In a social media post, the external affairs minister described his talks with his Russian counterpart as "productive exchange of views".
"Our conversation touched upon several aspects of the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, including trade and investment, energy and connectivity, science and technology, as well as facilitating mobility of skills and talent," he said.
"Other global and multilateral issues of mutual interest were also discussed," he said.
It is not immediately known if India's procurement of Russian crude oil figured in the talks.
In his televised opening remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar said India and Russia have a shared interest in strengthening multipolarity and could benefit through greater "de-risking" .
"The last few years have seen a steady and sustained growth in our bilateral partnership. Its economic and energy dimensions have become pronounced. Our political cooperation is even more valuable in an uncertain and volatile global environment," Jaishankar said.
"We have expanded our collaboration in science and technology. The mobility of talents and skills has acquired greater salience and our interest in ensuring better connectivity is deeper," he said.
"The complicated international situation also merits an open exchange of views, especially between two trusted partners," he said.
The external affairs minister said India and Russia have a shared interest in strengthening multipolarity.
Jaishankar also held separate bilateral talks with Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira South Africa's Ozzy Lamola.
The external affairs minister also met Maldivian Foreign Minister Iruthisham Adam.
"Underlined our Neighbourhood First policy and reviewed our bilateral cooperation. Reiterated India's commitment to Maldives' progress and development," he said on X.
India, as the chair of the BRICS, is hosting the conclave of the foreign ministers ahead of the annual summit of the grouping in September.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
It has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
The BRICS meeting will be chaired by Jaishankar.
