Mysteries behind two suicides

 Two suicide : Sushant Singh Rajput

                          Disha Salian

Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushanth Singh Rajput grew up in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states. He worked hard and was admitted to one of India’s top engineering colleges-a sure way of securing a bright future for middle class families. But his heart was set on acting. So, he dropped out of college and went to Mumbai, a city that makes and breaks thousands of dreams every day.

He did small roles, took up odd jobs and worked in theatre for years until one of his TV shows became a hit. His story fired the ambitious of young people in small towns. That’s why many of his fans took his death as a personal loss.

And just they were coming to terms with the news, unverified details about Sushant’s career, financial status, relationship and even mental health started circulating on social media and it debate on news channels.

Days after he died, some social media users claimed that he killed himself because a powerful Bollywood families and directors had treated him unfairly. They said that he was an outsider who had no “godfather” in the industry, and that his rise was unacceptable to certain Bollywood dynasties. They pointed to recent reports of him being side-lined after he was promised roles in big-budget films.

The Mumbai police is still investigating what led to the actor’s death. They had interviewed more than 50 people in that film industry to find out if there is enough evidence to file abetment of suicide charges.

The allegations led to a severe backlash on social media against some directors and producers. Karan Johar, who was launched the careers of the children of former film stars, was especially targeted. He faced abuse and threats online, but he did not respond to any of it. The police have not interviewed him.

A film critic says, Sushant’s death had brought a harsh truth to the fore: Bollywood doesn’t welcome people who don’t have the right corrections. But we don’t know if professional rivalry pushed Sushant to the brink. We need to wait for the investigation to finish.

Rhea Chakraborty

While this debate raged, some channels turned their focus on Rhea Chakraborty, Sushant’s girlfriend. Sushant’s father had filed a police complaint against Rhea in Bihar state, where he lives. He accused her for abetment of suicide and misappropriation of Sushant’s money. The media quickly jumped in this new twist in the case. On social media she has been called as a “gold digger” who “took away Sushant’s money”. Rhea has denied any wrongdoing and issued a desperate plea to Home Minister Amit Shah for a fair investigation into Sushant’s death. She has since been questioned by various investigative agencies.

Tv news channels and websites seem to favor two theories about what led to Sushant’s death. Some of them believe he was pushed to the brink because of Rhea and the apathy of movie directors, while others insist that his death is suspicious. And to prove their respective theories, they have crossed several red lines, said mental health expert, Dr Sowmitra Pathare. His bank account details have been leaked, and information about hid mental health and medication have also been reported.

Dr Pathare said that every news organization should have a code of ethics when it comes to reporting on a sensitive subject like suicide. But sadly, not many channels follow ethics in our rating-driven market. Everyone wants to outdo each other, and they forget their responsibility. He also blames some social media houses limited understanding of mental health issues.

Mental health is a largely unaddressed issue in India and one that, ironically, has been wrong portrayed by Bollywood for years. Our films mostly portray a depressed person as crazy or as a somebody who is always sad. A TV channel recently broadcast a video that showed Sushant relaxing at his home a few months before his death. The channel declared that the actor looked happy in the video and offered it as clinching evidence that he was not fighting depression. It is a myth that a depressed person always sulking.

The Mumbai police also been criticized for releasing details such as what the actor was searching for on the internet a few hours before his death. Vikram Singh, a former top cop in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, says the police should not be releasing such sensitive information. Many young people may try to search for similar things, and it could lead them into a dark place.

Disha salian dead:

Disha Salian

When Disha Salian, a manager of talent management firm, fell from a high rise building on night of 8-9 June, the news largely went unnoticed. But there was a chatter about this on social media and it disturbed Sushant. He called up his lawyer and asked who Disha salian was and why his name was being associated with his death. Days later June 14, Sushanth was found hanging in his flat.

Disha Salian’s close friend’s WhatsApp texts reveal what happened on the dreadful night of June 9, when she accidentally fall-off or committed suicide. The text has been accessed by India Today reveals that Disha was partying with her friends and fiancé.

She consumed a considerable amount of alcohol and felt depressed and said no one cares for anyone anywhere. A friend being in the party asked Disha to stop being a party spoiler and she went inside her bathroom and locked herself. After Disha did not answer the knocks, the pushed the door open and found that she had fallen off the balcony and rushed downstairs and she was alive at that time. She was immediately taken to the hospital where she was declared dead. The messages were exchanged between Disha’s close friends and friend present at the party. Police verified the chat and found out the facts to be true.

Her post-mortem report has revealed that she suffered injuries to her head and had multiple ‘unnatural’ injuries. Disha died around 2 am on June 9 but her post-mortem was conducted on June 11. The delay in conducting the post-mortem has raised many eyebrows as to why it took two days for the autopsy to be conducted. The doctor who carried out the autopsy clearly mentions in the post-mortem report that the cause of the death was the injuries she sustained as she fell from the 14^th floor of a high-rise building. However, there is no specific mention of any sexual assault as pointed by BJP MP Narayan Rane, but there is a mention of ‘multiple injuries’. In cases of unnatural death cases in women, vaginal swabs are taken for examination. As per the reports, there are strong suspicion about Disha’s suicide. However, Mumbai Police has not ruled out the possibility of accidentally falling from the building and they are still investigating the case.

Sushanth was very conscious about what was appearing about him on social media. After his name was linked to Disha Salian’s death, he was emotionally disturbed. Sushant would himself google his name to see what was being written about him. He also searched for “painless death”, “schizophrenia” and “bipolar disorder”.

Rajput family had alleged that he has been swindled of Rs 18 crore by Rhea and her family and she abetted his suicide.

What has come to light is that Sushant and Rhea has gone on a trip to Europe last year. He had developed health problems after returning. Around Diwali last year, he had shifted to her residence, and later moved to Bandra flat, where he hanged. He was consulting psychiatrists and psychotherapists. The medicines, according to family and friends, were being given to him by Rhea. Their accounts are said to show withdrawals to buy puja material, giving rise to charges that there was even black magic in the mix.

The two deaths have become a messy affair with unverified posts on social media. The public perception is different from what actually happens in Mumbai’s entertainment industry. The two deaths have thus accuried all the elements of an unsolved mystery-love, betrayal, fraud, politics, professional rivalry and more.