Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty on Thursday urged the cyber crime cell in India to investigate the barrage of rape and murder threats directed at her ever since her boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide.
It has been a month since Rajput’s death, but the vitriolic messages and online hate against her continues unabated.
“I was called a gold digger. I kept quiet. I was called a murderer. I kept quiet, I was slut shamed, I kept quiet. But how does my silence give you the right to tell me that you will get me raped and murdered if I don’t commit suicide @mannu_raaut?” the actor wrote tagging one of the accounts from which she received a threat.
Rajput’s death on June 14 has sent shock waves across Bollywood and among movie-mad fans. His ardent followers believe that the actor was forced to commit suicide by bullies in Bollywood.
Chakraborty — who was in a relationship with the actor — has also been picked on, with many blaming her for his death.
She questioned her online haters for their unrelenting toxicity and hate.
“Do you realise the seriousness of what you have said? These are crimes, and by law no one, I repeat NO ONE should be subjected to this kind of toxicity and harassment,” wrote Chakraborty on her Instagram account.
Chakraborty is not alone. Stars including Alia Bhatt and her sister Shaheen Bhatt have been receiving death threats by those who believe that they somehow harmed their idol Rajput’s life.
Rajput’s death has triggered debates on nepotism and clans in Bollywood. A popular narrative is that Rajput was alienated by those close to him and there was a smear campaign launched against the actor by industry insiders.
Chakraborty, in particular, has been singled out and her character has been assassinated by the public with many questioning her closeness to director Mahesh Bhatt, Alia Bhatt’s father.
