Filmmaker Sandip Ssingh who calls himself a friend of Sushant Singh Rajput has said that those who levelled allegations against him and questioned his relationship with the late actor were absent after Sushant's death on June 14 and he had stepped in to lend support to the grieving family.
"The people who are levelling allegations against me should answer why they didn't go to the residence of Sushant Singh Rajput or the hospital when they got the news (of his death) or to his funeral. Why didn't they stand with the family?" Ssingh told ANI here.
The film producer claims to have known Sushant beforehand and said he had never met the actor's family. Recently the producer also shared screenshots of his conversation with the late actor on Instagram.
Sandeep Singh also clarified about his "thumbs-up gesture" he was seen giving a police man outside the hospital where Sushant Singh's body was taken, leading to allegations of foul play against him from several quarters.
"When I reached Cooper Hospital with Mitu didi (Sushant's sister), a constable asked - who is Sandip Ssingh? To which, instead of shouting or removing my mask, I showed thumbs up to tell him that I was the person. What wrong did I do? Should I have cared about my gesture while supporting a family?" he said.
Further, refuting the allegations levelled against him, Sandeep Ssingh said that he was friends with the late actor and had tried to contact him even during the lockdown phase.
"For a year, Sushant Singh Rajput was busy in shooting of Chhichhore and Dil Bechara while I was busy in making PM Narendra Modi. Every person gets busy in their life. If two people are not in touch, that does not mean that they are no longer friends," he said.
"During the lockdown, I sent a message to Sushant Singh, reading 'Bhai?' But I never got a reply because I did not have his new number. If he had changed his number, what wrong did I commit?" he questioned.
The film producer said he was disheartened by the media trials and people on social media platforms targeting his family. "The media has been camping outside my residence for 20 days? Why? Am I an accused? People in my residential society are asking me to leave," Ssingh said.
BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu, Rajput's cousin had in August demanded that Sandeep and Sidharth Pithani be interrogated by the CBI. The Congress party too had used Sandeep Ssingh's name to target the ruling BJP and had questioned the motive behind pushing for a CBI inquiry instead of letting Mumbai police handle the investigation.
Meanwhile, Rhea Chakraborty, Sushant's girlfriend was summoned by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday morning to join the investigation of the death case of the late actor.
On August 19, the Supreme Court had asked the CBI to investigate the case related to the actor's death, while holding that the FIR registered in Patna was legitimate. The agency has registered an FIR against Chakraborty and others in connection with the actor's death after the Centre accepted the Bihar government's recommendation to transfer the probe in the matter from Patna.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report in the late actor's death case after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed by Rajput's father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty in Bihar on July 28.
Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14.
(ANI)
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