Actress Rhea Chakraborty was grilled by the CBI for seven hours on the second consecutive day on Saturday over her alleged role in the circumstances leading to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. A day after she was questioned for 11-long hours by the CBI, Rhea — who has been accused by Sushant’s family of abetting the actor’s death — arrived at the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)’s guesthouse at Santa Cruz’s Kalina area for questioning at 1.30 pm for the second day of questioning. Her questioning went on seven-long hours.

Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik, who was grilled for the third consecutive day and drove her to Juhu residence, in her car. She was accompanied by an escort vehicle of the Mumbai police.

After Rhea lodged a complaint with the Santa Cruz police station against some media persons on Friday night for allegedly trying to enter her residence, the Mumbai police had provided her protection and escort to take her for questioning at the DRDO and bring her back from there after seven-hour-long grilling.

Her brother Showik, who had also accompanied Rhea, was questioned separately for the third consecutive day.

Meanwhile, Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya, whose name has figured in drug-related issues involving Sushant, Rhea and others, will appear before the ED for questioning on Monday.

In a related development, the ongoing Sushant Singh Rajput death investigations assumed a political dimension, as Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of the NCP flagged the alleged links of filmmaker Sandeep Singh - who produced 2019 biopic “PM Narendra Modi” along with Suresh Oberoi, Anand Pandit and Acharya - with the Sushant Singh death case.

Talking to news agency ANI, Deshmukh said: “I have received many requests & complaints to investigate the relationship between Sandeep Singh, who made PM Modi’s biopic & BJP; regarding his connection with Bollywood & drugs. I will send these requests to CBI for investigation”.

Alleging that there was “a lot of mystery” behind the haste with which the Narendra Modi government ordered CBI probe into the Sushant Singh Rajput death. “The close relationship between Sandeep Singh, a link in the Sushant Singh Rajput case and the Bharatiya Janata Party is now getting revealed. It is learned that Sandeep Singh had called the BJP office 53 times. If it is true, then who is this ‘boss’  in the BJP office and how is the BJP so close to Sandeep Singh?,” Maharashtra Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant asked in a statement issued here on Saturday.   

Talking to media persons outside Arya’s resort,  Arya’s Delhi-based lawyer Manu Sharma said: . “He will be present at the Mumbai ED office to give his statement... We will cooperate fully”.

On Friday, the ED officials had visited Hotel Tamarind at Goa’s coastal village Anjuna. Seeing the hotel shut, they stuck the summons paper on the door of the hotel. Hotel Tamarind has been shut since March this year, because of the lockdown restrictions

Meanwhile, picking up the threads after they grilled for eleven hours on Friday, the CBI sleuths subjected her second round of questioning.

Rhea -- who had on Friday been questioned on various issues like her relationship with Sushant, her strained relations with his family members, bouts of depression reportedly suffered by the actor, on why she left the actor’s flat on June 8, whether she was administering medicine and if yes if the medicine given to the actor were prescribed by doctors and asked her about the psychiatrists, doctors and spiritual healers whom she had taken Sushant to - was grilled over several others issue.

On Saturday, Rhea was questioned once again on issues on Sushant’s  financial & professional matters, whether she supplying banned drugs or giving drugs mixed in liquids to the actor, whether she had received any money from the actor, what transpired in their trip to Europe and about her strained relations with Sushant’s family members.

During the course of her day-long questioning, Rhea is understood to have been questioned by the CBI on issues like her relationship with Sushant, on why she left the actor’s flat on June 8, whether she was administering medicine and if yes if the drugs given to the actor were prescribed by doctors, about the psychiatrists, doctors and spiritual healers whom she had taken Sushant to, whether she was taking decisions in the actor’s financial & professional matters, whether she supplying drugs or giving drugs mixed in liquids to the actor, whether she had received any money from the actor, what transpired in their trip to Europe and about her strained relations with Sushant’s family members.

Rajput’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani, cook Neeraj Singh, domestic help Keshav, manager Samual Miranda and accountant Rajat Mewati were questioned by the CBI sleuths once again.

While Neerak was questioned for the 10th consecutive day on Saturday, while Siddharth was grilled for the ninth day.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress upped the ante on the alleged links between filmmaker Sandeep Singh, who was one of the producers of biopic “PM Narendra Modi” released last year, with the Sushant Singh Rajput  death case.

Talking to media persons here, State Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant said: “Given that Sandeep Singh’s name is being linked to drug dealing and he has close association with the BJP,  the connection between the BJP and the drug mafia should also be investigated”.

“We have learnt that between September 1 and December 23, 2019, Sandeep Singh made 53 phone calls to the Maharashtra BJP office .Who was he talking to in the BJP office? Who is Sandeep Singh’s ‘handler’ in BJP? These were some of the  serious questions that have been raised by Sawant,” Sawant said.

“The BJP and Sandeep Singh had such a close relationship that the BJP gave him the responsibility of making Modi’s biopic. In return, the Gujarat government signed a MoU worth Rs 177 crore with Legend Global Studios. How was Sandeep Singh’s company the only one for this deal? Why were other film companies not make a part of Vibrant Gujarat? Sandeep Singh is also an accused in a sexual abuse case of a minor during a visit to Mauritius sponsored by the Indian embassy in 2018.The BJP selected such a controversial person to make a biopic of Modi and this selection was also supported by the then Chief Minister?, “Sawant asked.

“It is astonishing that Sandeep Singh, who is facing serious charges of sexual harassment, was selected to make a film on the life of the Prime Minister without any verification by the Home Department .Also, how did the then Home Minister and Chief Minister not know about his background? How did he attend the poster launch of the film? The BJP will have to answer these questions,”  Sawant said.

“The leaked WhatsApp messages of Riya Chakraborty, who is under investigation in the Sushant Singh case, are also from the time when the BJP was in power in the state. The then Chief Minister and the Home Minister belonged to the BJP, and it can be said that during the BJP rule, drugs were so easily available though just WhatsApp chats. So was the BJP government, which is now demanding an inquiry into Bollywood and the drug mafia, was supporting it?” the Maharashtra Congress spokesperson asked.