Twinkle Khanna lashes out at Rhea Chakraborty witch hunt

Author and Akshay Kumar’s wife slams media for relentless and biased coverage of the case

Bollywood actress, producer and author Twinkle Khanna hit out at the media witch hunt unleashed on actress Rhea Chakraborty, the girlfriend of late star Sushant Singh Rajput and the prime accused in an investigation into his death.

Khanna, in her column for Times of India, wrote about how journalists and news anchors are mastering the art of deception by creating illusions and pulling off cheap tricks.

“Four important issues have been replaced by another bunch — a supposedly ineffective Mumbai Police, a movie mafia, banned apps and a drug cartel hinging on 59 grams of cannabis,” said Khanna in her column.

Over the last few months, Rajput’s death has been dissected by the media with several theories about Chakraborty — from her being a drug pusher to a gold digger — being floated around.

Khanna, who’s married to actor Akshay Kumar, who displays strong leanings towards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, believes that the media is using Rajput’s death as a smokescreen to deflect from larger issues plaguing India.

“Our eyes though seem to be riveted towards our performers on our flickering screens. We watch the pull squealing frightened rabbits out of their hats, unaware that they are simultaneously pulling a woollen topi [cap] over our heads as well,” wrote Khanna.

She also wondered out aloud about the moral radar of the anchors who are keen to demonise Chakraborty.

“Do they justify it as mere collateral damage — one life in exchange for entertaining and distracting 1.3 billion for months?” she asked.

Ever since Chakraborty has been arrested in a drug probe related to Rajput’s death, several Bollywood stars including Swara Bhasker, Farhan Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap have extended their support towards her.