ED summons Rhea Chakraborty to appear on Aug 7
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned actor Rhea Chakraborty for questioning on Friday in a money laundering probe stemming from a complaint filed by Sushant Singh Rajput's father with the Bihar Police in connection with his death, officials said on Wednesday.
They said Chakraborty, 28, has been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case on August 7.
Once she appears, the actor is expected to be questioned about her friendship with Rajput, possible business dealings and the developments that took place over the last few years between them.
Her statement will be recorded by the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The summons are linked to a money laundering case that was registered by the ED on July 31 on the basis of a Bihar Police FIR in which Sushant Singh Rajput's 74-year-old father K K Singh had accused actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family of abetting the Bollywood actor's suicide.
Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area on June 14.
The central probe agency also questioned Sushant's house manager in Mumbai on Wednesday in this case.
It had grilled the deceased actor's Chartered Accountant (CA) Sandeep Shridhar on August 3.
Under the ED's scanner are at least two companies linked to Rajput and some financial deals involving Chakraborty and her brother Showik.
The ED case, registered on July 31, has been filed against the accused named in the Bihar Police FIR that includes Chakraborty, her family and six others.
Rajput's father, who resides in Patna, had last month lodged the complaint with the Bihar Police against Chakraborty, her family members and six others for abetment to suicide of his son and fraud.
Singh has accused Chakraborty, purported girlfriend of Rajput, of having befriended his son in May 2019 with the intention of furthering her own career.
The father also wanted a police investigation to ascertain where the Rs 15 crore, which he claimed was deposited in a bank account held by Rajput, had been transferred.
The Mumbai police is also probing the alleged suicide case, and has questioned several top Bollywood producers and directors in this case.
Chakraborty had released a video statement soon after the ED case was filed.
"I have immense faith in god and the judiciary. I believe that I will get justice. Even though a lot of horrible things are being said about me on the electronic media, I refrain from commenting on the advice of my lawyers as the matter is sub-judice. Satyamev Jayate, the truth shall prevail," she had said in the message.
The Supreme Court, while hearing Chakraborty's plea for transferring the Bihar Police FIR to the Mumbai Police, on Wednesday said that truth behind the "unfortunate" death of a "gifted and talented artist" (Rajput) should come out even as the Centre apprised it of having accepted the Bihar government's recommendation for a CBI probe in the matter.
Rajput starred in films like 'Shuddh Desi Romance', 'Raabta', 'Kedarnath', 'Chhichhore' and 'Sonchiriya'. His most prominent role was in cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni's biopic 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story'.
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India trashes Canada's allegations against Amit Shah as 'absurd and baseless'
New Delhi (PTI): India has protested in the strongest possible terms the references made by a Canadian minister about Union Home Minister Amit Shah and such "absurd and baseless" allegations will have serious consequences for bilateral ties between the two countries, the Minister of External Affairs said on Saturday.
The comments came after Canada's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison on Tuesday alleged that Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.
Morrison had also told Canadian Parliament members of the national security committee that he had confirmed Shah's name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this revelation that high Canadian government officials deliberately leaked unfounded insinuations to international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view that the Indian government has long held about the current Canadian government's political agenda and behavioural pattern.
Replying to queries during a weekly press briefing here, Jaiswal said such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties.
He said India summoned a Canadian High Commission representative on Friday and the official was served a diplomatic note to lodge the protest in strongest terms on the "absurd and baseless" references made by the Canadian deputy minister about India's Union Home Minister.
While addressing the Parliament members, Morrison did not say how Canada knew of Shah's alleged involvement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.
Dismissing the allegations as absurd, Indian government officials have consistently denied that Canada provided evidence.
