Ever since Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide in June this year, investigations into his death have been ongoing. Recently, superstar Akshay Kumar was named in this case by a YouTuber named Rashid Siddiqui.
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According to Mid-day, Siddiqui, who owns a YouTube channel called ‘FF News’, claims that Akshay was unhappy about Sushant getting big films like ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’. He further alleged that the ‘Khiladi’ actor has also had secret meetings with the police and a politician regarding his death. Moreover, he has said in one of his videos that Akki also helped Sushant’s girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, escape to Canada.
But, as soon as Akshay came to know that Siddiqui was wrongly naming him in the case, he slapped him with a defamation case of Rs 500 Crore on Tuesday, reported News18.
However, this isn’t the first time that Siddiqui, a civil engineer from Bihar, has been taken to task for falsely accusing people in Sushant’s case. Earlier, he was arrested for spreading fake news and dragging the name of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya Thackeray, in the case.
As per reports, the YouTuber uses the platform to cash in by spreading fake news. If reports are to be believed, Siddiqui minted around Rs 15 lakh in four months and his subscribers count also grew from 2 lakh to over 3 lakhs. According to a senior IPS officer:
“The actor’s death was used as an opportunity to earn money as people were curious about the case. Once the media started reporting different theories, YouTubers too grabbed the opportunity and started posting fake content. They maligned Mumbai police’s image and earned money during the lockdown.”
The 25-year-old has been charged with defamation, public mischief, and intentional insult. The court has granted Siddiqui anticipatory bail and has asked him to cooperate in the investigation.
Siddiqui hasn’t officially said anything on this matter. Watch this space for more information.
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