'Rajput's family pressured me to give statement against Rhea'

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's friend has sent an e-mail to Mumbai Police, alleging that the family members of the late Bollywood star pressurised him to give a statement against actress Rhea Chakraborty, an official said on Friday.

The purported mail was sent by Rajput's friend Siddharth Pithani on the official e-mail address of the Bandra Police on July 28, the official said.

"In the mail, Siddharth said that he received conference calls from the family members of Rajput and an unknown number on July 22, in which they asked him questions regarding Rhea Chakraborty and her expenses during her stay at Mont Blanc apartment (in Bandra) with the late actor," he said.

"He said that on July 27, he again received a phone call, in which a family member of Rajput asked him to give a statement against Rhea Chakraborty to Bihar Police," the official added.

"Siddharth said that the family member told him that he would get a phone call soon. Accordingly, he received a call from an unknown WhatsApp number, which ended within 40 seconds and hence he could not give any statement," the official said.

Pithani, who was a flatmate of the late actor, alleged in the mail that he was being pressurised to record a statement against Chakraborty about the things which he was not aware of, he said.

Krishna Kumar Singh (74), Rajput's father, had lodged a complaint against Chakraborty, the deceased actor's friend, and six others, including her family members, for alleged abetment to suicide, in Patna on Tuesday.

Singh accused Chakraborty, a budding TV and film actor, of having befriended his son in May 2019 with the intention of furthering her own career.

Meanwhile, Bihar Police team which is in Mumbai to investigate the FIR registered in Patna against Chakraborty, on Thursday recorded the statement of Rajput's ex-girlfriend Ankita Lokhande, in which she told that the late actor was not under depression, another official said.

The police team from Bihar is likely to question Rajput''s friends, colleagues, the official said.

The Bihar police on Thursday started the process of scrutinising financial transactions and bank account details of Rajput as part of their probe into his alleged suicide here last month.

The Bihar police team, which arrived here on Wednesday, visited several places, including the residence of Chakraborty.

The Mumbai police, who are already investigating the alleged suicide, have questioned several people from the film industry in connection with the case.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

Rajput starred in films like "Shuddh Desi Romance", "Raabta", "Kedarnath", "Chhichhore" and "Sonchiriya". His most prominent role was that of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story".