The many warped inconsistencies in Sushant's so-called friend Sandip Ssingh's narrative

In an exclusive one-on-one conversation with Arnab Goswami on The Debate was filmmaker and producer Sandip Ssingh. Sandip Ssingh has been claiming he was a close friend of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. But in a 17-minute confrontation with Arnab Goswami, it soon became clear that there is more to the case and his statements than meets the eye. 

As the interview continued, the inconsistencies in Sandip Ssingh’s narrative began piling up. Here are the 6 claims that film-maker Sandip Ssingh made that just do not appear to add up: 

INCONSISTENCY 1: THE SUICIDE NARRATIVE

On The Debate, Sandip Ssingh declared Sushant was not the type of person to commit suicide. His exact words were, "He is not the guy who will do what has happened to him. He is a very very happy guy. Matlab, he has always spoken about movies, his dreams. I come from Patna. I am from Bihar. We used to always discuss how two Biharis will rule the industry." 

Curiously, while he discredited the suicide theory when questioned by Arnab Goswami, he is also the same man who on the very day of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death furthered the suicide narrative. On 14 June, Sandip Ssingh took to Instagram to share images with Sushant captioned, “RIP @sushantsinghrajput Bhai, why did you do this”, almost implying Sushant had hanged himself.

INCONSISTENCY 2: THE ‘GOT THE NEWS OF DEATH AT HOME’ CLAIM

Questioned by Arnab Goswami on where he was when he found out about Sushant’s demise, Sandip Ssingh clearly said, "I was at home because of Corona, and this thing. As soon as I heard the news, I got a call from Mahesh Shetty and he said he is coming to pick me up." He even went on to provide the timing of when he got the news, saying, “It was around 2:15 or 2 o’clock.” 

Interestingly, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam claims Sushant’s so-called friend Sandip Ssingh was with him when he found out about the death. In a Facebook Live with a certain Sunil Jha, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam specifically states that he was with Sandip Ssingh at the very moment he got the news of Sushant’s death. Clips from this conversation have since been widely circulated on social media. 

INCONSISTENCY 3: THE ‘CLOSE FRIEND’ THEORY 

Sandip Ssingh has been saying “Mahesh Shetty and I are the closest friend to him." However, probed about his friendship by Arnab Goswami, he admits, “we were not in touch for the last few months, but I don’t know the reason.” Confronted on The Debate about the inconsistency, he almost reluctantly says, “even before he entered the film industry we were together, so it is a long relationship.”

 Now, while Sandip Ssingh claims of being a close friend of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the narrative is not corroborated by the actor’s close family friend. In fact, family friend Smita Parikh explicitly says, nobody in the family knows Sandip Ssingh. 

INCONSISTENCY 4: THE TOTAL AMBULANCES ON THE SPOT 

Sandip Ssingh who was among the first few to reach Sushant's house told Republic TV, "The police had called the ambulance and there was only one ambulance as I was there. The body was taken by the Police. I was at my home due to Corona and received a call from Mahesh Shetty about Sushant's death."

However, pictures tell a different story. There are images and videos of two ambulances being present at the Mount Blanc building where Sushant resided and was found dead. These images raise further questions on Sandip Ssingh’s one ambulance claim.

READ: On Tape: Two Ambulances At Sushant's Residence Contradicts Sandip Ssingh's Version

INCONSISTENCY 5: THE AFTERMATH OF SUSHANT’S DEATH

Asked about the condition in which Sandip Ssingh found Sushant Singh Rajput’s body, Ssingh says, “As soon as we reached, in about 10 minutes, Sushant’s body was carried by a police person to a stretcher. Mahesh Shetty and me were standing and it was taken to the ambulance.” Questioned by Arnab Goswami about the height of the room, he says, “it is not very high.” But when he was asked whether he entered the room, Sandip Ssingh carefully claimed, “I did not enter the room but I saw the room from outside”. The entire sequence raises questions as to what parts of Sushant’s home were sealed by the Mumbai Police. 

Meanwhile, it is crucial to note that speaking to Republic TV, Sushant Singh Rajput’s family friend Smita Parikh said Sandip Ssingh entered Sushant’s house following his death and began ordering people around. Referring to Sandip Ssingh, she said, “The way he came in the house, he was actually monitoring everything, he was even giving instructions to Siddharth Pithani (Sushant’s flatmate). That is what is told to me by Pithani, ‘Ma’am as soon he came in the house, he started ordering us.”

READ: Sushant's Family Doesn't Know Sandip Ssingh; He Insisted On Cooper Hospital: Family Friend

INCONSISTENCY 6: THE MUMBAI POLICE ACTION

In a curious turn of events, despite Sandip Ssingh being one of the few people on the scene of the death, and despite his claims of being one of the late actor’s ‘closest friends’, Ssingh revealed that he has not been summoned to record a formal written signed and stamped statement by the Mumbai Police. 

Ssingh says, “They have not taken my statement as of now Arnab.” Probed further, in what appears to be a defensive tone, he claims, “They have spoken to me, they have taken all the details from me.” 

THE INCONSISTENCIES CANNOT BE SWEPT UNDER THE RUG

The inconsistencies and discrepancies in the statements made by Sushant Singh Rajput’s so-called friend Sandip Ssingh while speaking to Arnab Goswami have only raised more questions and eyebrows on what the real facts and circumstances surrounding actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death are. For now, these questions remain unanswered: 

• Is Sandip Ssingh’s narrative nothing but smoke and mirrors? Why has the Mumbai Police not recorded his statement and interrogated him? 
• Where was Sandip Ssingh when he found out about the death of Sushant and, how did he get to the scene of the death? 
• Why is Sandip Ssingh calling himself Sushant’s ‘closest friend’ when the family allegedly doesn't even know him? 
• What parts of Sushant’s apartment did Sandip Ssingh enter, if he did, and which parts did the Mumbai Police seal? 
• Why did Sandip Ssingh claim a single ambulance was on the spot when video footage indicates two ambulances were present? 

As the details surrounding the death of Sushant Singh Rajput get murkier, as questions on what really happened on 14th June swell and, as doubts raised on the Mumbai Police’s efficiency in the case increase - could there be a more fitting reason to ensure an independent probe into the case by the CBI to sift fact from fiction.