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Asia India

SWAT Analysis

Charges against Rhea Chakraborty will not stick, she will be old news soon

Accused of murder to abetment of suicide, drugs charge is an escape route after the frenzy



Actor Rhea Chakraborty being taken for medical examination after being arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau.
Image Credit: ANI

While Rhea Chakraborty has finally been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to uphold the reputation of some “news channels” close to the Modi government and the BJP, senior officials of the NCB told me that the charges were unlikely to stick.

The NCB is on record to say that “the bureau normally does not handle these type of cases”. Currently the NCB chief is Gujarat cadre IPS Rakesh Asthana known to be particularly close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who intervened and sacked Asthana’s then CBI boss Alok Verma in an unprecedented post-midnight decision.

Verma was all set to arrest Asthana on charges of alleged corruption before he was sacked.

The other motive to arrest Chakraborty is to end what is seemingly turning into a public relations nightmare against the Rajput family and the Modi government.

All the charges levelled against Chakraborty - she stole Rupees 15 crores from Sushant Singh Rajput, kept the family unaware of his mental health issues and fed him schedule H drugs (drugs which can only be bought on prescription from a doctor) are false.

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Not only was the Rajput family aware of his mental health issues, but one of his sister’s was making him have drugs post a phone consult with a Delhi-based doctor.

Read more from Swati Chaturvedi

Rhea Chakraborty, as their designated villain of the saga, seemed to be a flop script so out of sight out of mind, is the new strategy. Chakraborty is in 14 days judicial remand as the NCB did not seek her custody saying she had cooperated with him post marathon interrogation sessions.

After having accused her from murder to abetment of suicide, the hysteria whipped up for one party for the Bihar elections with posters demanding justice for Sushant Singh Rajput, this is seen as an exit strategy.

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In his virtual public meeting held yesterday Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister also spoke on the issue of justice for Rajput. What is left unsaid is that justice for Sushant now means the media lynching of Chakraborty.

With Chakraborty out of sight for 14 days expect the BJP and JDU spin doctors to come up with some new issue. They are fervently hoping Rhea will be old news for the television news cycle.

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