Rhea Chakraborty: Bollywood actor granted bail after nearly a month

Chakraborty was arrested last month in connection with a case that has dominated Indian news

Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty has been granted bail nearly a month after she was jailed for allegedly buying drugs for her actor-boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his flat on 14 June. Police at the time said he had killed himself.

But the case took an unexpected turn when his family accused Chakraborty of abetment to suicide, sparking months of media coverage and speculation.

Chakraborty has denied any wrongdoing.

She is likely to be released from jail later on Wednesday, Chakraborty's lawyer told BBC Marathi.

Her brother, Showik, was also arrested in the same drugs case but has not been granted bail. He too has denied the charges.

For months, Chakraborty has been trolled online, accused of getting Rajput addicted to drugs and driving him to suicide. Allegations of murder also emerged as three different federal agencies investigated the case.

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But a panel of doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, one of India's biggest public hospitals, submitted a report to India's investigating agency last week ruling out murder.

"Sushant's death is a case of suicide," Dr Sudhir Gupta, who led the panel, told local media earlier this week.

Chakraborty and Rajput began dating in the summer of 2019, according to reports, and moved in together in December. On 8 June, a week before Rajput's death, Chakraborty went to stay with her parents and wasn't home when the actor died.

Rhea Chakraborty (L) and Sushant Singh Rajput began dating in 2019

After his death, reports in the press suggested that he had been dealing with mental health issues.

But within days, the focus shifted to Chakraborty and the 28-year-old upcoming actress soon found herself at the centre of a storm of allegations, conspiracy theories, rumours and unconfirmed reports.

After Chakraborty's arrest, the country's narcotics board also questioned other Bollywood actresses, including Deepika Padukone.

This is part of what appears to be a parallel investigation into claims of widespread drug use in Bollywood. The agency questioned at least four actresses but none have been accused of any wrongdoing.