As cops bicker, politicians jump in and the CBI takes up the probe into his death, point-scoring dims the talent he was

Over a month into Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, conspiracy theories surrounding it have refused to die down. Did the gifted talent wither away, traumatised and depressed? Was he pushed a bit too hard over the edge by Bollywood’s incestuous cliques? Was he blackmailed and threatened about his finances by girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty or was he exploited by some money-laundering gang? Such has been the unending volley of questions that he continues to dominate news cycles despite the pandemic. Now the Supreme Court, where Rhea had petitioned against her victimisation by the actor’s family, has taken note, seeking an impartial and comprehensive probe, following which the CBI has taken it up. Sadly and inappropriately, Sushant has been iconised by his death than his life’s work and for his sake, it is imperative the truth comes out and there is closure. So that he is not defined by the haze of the underbelly but by his achievements. For his sake, we must know if it was suicide or murder, so that we can restore his dignity and peace. For his sake, we must know how serious was he a victim of mental depression as that becomes a malaise of a generation under extreme pressure of performance and expectation. Most importantly, the blame games and needless politicking in his name must stop right now.

Hardly anybody caught in the nepotism slugfest in the film industry had been around to help him or know him better when he needed them. The turf war between the Mumbai and Bihar police, both of which are conducting parallel investigations, has turned the probe into a game of one-upmanship than about assessing the facts of the case. The Bihar police seems to be acting at the behest of Sushant’s politically-connected family and raising questions which the Mumbai police should have taken note of rather than dismissing them as a coercive tactic. Both should be exchanging notes and information to clear the haze of speculation. Otherwise, the bickering is only emaciating them and eroding public trust. But reprehensibly, it’s the politicians across the divide in Bihar who are hellbent on making justice for the “son of the soil” an electoral issue when they have had no active association with him. Such was the pressure from the Opposition, with its leader Tejaswi Yadav leading an all-party demand to treat it as a national issue, that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had to recommend a CBI probe into his death. Question is whether they would stop at that or keep the ball rolling if the findings are not to their liking. Therefore, given the political and regional sensitivities involved, there is this lingering fear that Sushant’s case, like that of the Arushi murder case and Jessica Lal’s before it, could drag on for years. And if indeed we lost him to depression, then that is the biggest casualty of this debate.

Courtesy: The Pioneer

As cops bicker, politicians jump in and the CBI takes up the probe into his death, point-scoring dims the talent he was

Over a month into Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, conspiracy theories surrounding it have refused to die down. Did the gifted talent wither away, traumatised and depressed? Was he pushed a bit too hard over the edge by Bollywood’s incestuous cliques? Was he blackmailed and threatened about his finances by girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty or was he exploited by some money-laundering gang? Such has been the unending volley of questions that he continues to dominate news cycles despite the pandemic. Now the Supreme Court, where Rhea had petitioned against her victimisation by the actor’s family, has taken note, seeking an impartial and comprehensive probe, following which the CBI has taken it up. Sadly and inappropriately, Sushant has been iconised by his death than his life’s work and for his sake, it is imperative the truth comes out and there is closure. So that he is not defined by the haze of the underbelly but by his achievements. For his sake, we must know if it was suicide or murder, so that we can restore his dignity and peace. For his sake, we must know how serious was he a victim of mental depression as that becomes a malaise of a generation under extreme pressure of performance and expectation. Most importantly, the blame games and needless politicking in his name must stop right now.

Hardly anybody caught in the nepotism slugfest in the film industry had been around to help him or know him better when he needed them. The turf war between the Mumbai and Bihar police, both of which are conducting parallel investigations, has turned the probe into a game of one-upmanship than about assessing the facts of the case. The Bihar police seems to be acting at the behest of Sushant’s politically-connected family and raising questions which the Mumbai police should have taken note of rather than dismissing them as a coercive tactic. Both should be exchanging notes and information to clear the haze of speculation. Otherwise, the bickering is only emaciating them and eroding public trust. But reprehensibly, it’s the politicians across the divide in Bihar who are hellbent on making justice for the “son of the soil” an electoral issue when they have had no active association with him. Such was the pressure from the Opposition, with its leader Tejaswi Yadav leading an all-party demand to treat it as a national issue, that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had to recommend a CBI probe into his death. Question is whether they would stop at that or keep the ball rolling if the findings are not to their liking. Therefore, given the political and regional sensitivities involved, there is this lingering fear that Sushant’s case, like that of the Arushi murder case and Jessica Lal’s before it, could drag on for years. And if indeed we lost him to depression, then that is the biggest casualty of this debate.

Courtesy: The Pioneer