Sushant Singh Rajput's Death Is a Mystery
Sushant Singh Rajput's death — ruled a suicide by Mumbai police — has become a puzzle. What was first framed as a conversation about nepotism has splintered into online theories, heated TV debates on Arnab Goswami's Republic World, and a criminal complaint by SSR's family against his girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty.
Disha Salian. Six days before SSR's death, his former manager Disha Salian died after falling from a 14th-floor building in Malad, Mumbai, on June 8, 2020. Mumbai police treated her death as accidental or suicide; her family denied foul play. Some commentators — including Simi Garewal, who tweeted that Salian's death "must be investigated" and could reveal "the conspiracy linked to the murder of #SSR" — argued the case was closed too quickly. Unproven theories circulated online: that Salian had attended a party on June 8 where something happened, and that powerful political names were protecting the truth. None of this was established.
Rhea Chakraborty. On July 25, 2020, SSR's father filed an FIR in Patna against Rhea Chakraborty and others, alleging abetment to suicide, cheating, and siphoning of funds. The family alleged she had isolated SSR from his friends and family and that he was given psychotropic medication — claims the family's supporters amplified through long public posts analyzing the case. Rhea denied the allegations. In August 2020 the case was handed to the CBI.
The media circus. Republic World ran nightly campaigns suggesting a cover-up and implicating Maharashtra government figures, including Aditya Thackeray — allegations that were never substantiated. Meanwhile, other channels and many on social media framed the story as the industry's long history of nepotism catching up with it.
As of August 2020, none of the conspiracy claims had been proven. Will SSR's death mystery be solved? At the time of writing, the investigations were still underway — and the truth, whatever it was, had yet to come out.
Originally published August 2020. Later: in October 2020, an AIIMS medical panel concluded the death was a suicide; the CBI probe continued into 2021.
Related Stories
I Stand With Alia Bhatt
An opinion piece: three days after Sushant Singh Rajput's death, the conversation shifted to defending Bollywood's insiders — instead of asking hard
Sushant Singh Rajput: The Story Against Nepotism
Sushant Singh Rajput died June 14, 2020. His death reopened Bollywood's nepotism debate — from Kangana's 'planned murder' claim to Abhinav Kashyap's
Naperville Is Lit to the Hilt
In the pandemic winter of 2020, Naperville outdid itself with holiday lights — and one friend's hand-drawn maps turned it into a family touring tradition.