Wire agency IANS and Hindi daily Jagran fell for a fake Twitter account impersonating Sushant Singh Rajput's father that demanded the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigate the late actor's death. The article, which was republished by several news outlets, referred to a tweet by the impostor account of Rajput's father KK Singh, and stated that he has demanded that the investigation be taken over by the CBI.
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found dead at his rented Bandra apartment on June 14. Rajput's death sent shock waves across the industry, with netizens questioning nepotism and alleged favouritism in the film industry as the underlying cause of his death. Mumbai Police has recorded statements of 28 people so far in this regard.
The article by IANS was headlined as, "Now Sushant Singh Rajput's father demands CBI inquiry into his death", with excerpts of translated tweets from the impostor account. An excerpt from the article, republished by E-Times, the entertainment section of Times of India, reads, "There is a growing demand for a CBI inquiry into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who allegedly committed suicide at his Mumbai residence on June 14. A Twitter account of Sushant's father K.K. Singh has surfaced, through which he is demanding justice for his son. He has asked for a probe by the CBI."
Click here to view the archive of the article. The handle which describes itself as "unofficial & fan Twitter Account K.K Singh. Father of Susant Singh Rajput" in the bio, tweeted about a CBI inquiry into Rajput's death on July 4.
The story was picked up by Outlook, Times Now, The Tribune and Mathrubhumi.
The story was reproduced by Times Now with the headline, "Sushant Singh Rajput's father demands CBI inquiry into his death". However, the outlet later deleted the article. Click here to view the archive of the article.
An excerpt from a Jagran article headlined "Sushant Singh Rajput Death: Father moving Supreme Court for a CBI inquiry, said his soul is crying for that," when translated to English, reads, "On Saturday Rajput's father expressed himself through a series of tweets. It was stated that his son's soul is weeping for a CBI inquiry into his death."
News 24 Online, another news outlet, referred to the tweets of the same impostor account for an article, titled, "Big Breaking: Now Sushant Singh Rajput's father demands CBI inquiry into his death". Click here for the archive.
The narrative that Rajput's father has demanded a CBI inquiry into his death is also viral on Facebook, based on the fake Twitter handle.
"Unofficial Fan Twitter Account"
BOOM was able to ascertain that the account of Rajput's father is an unofficial one. Created on June 24, 2020, a previous archive of the account shows that the user had earlier falsely described it as the "Official Twitter Account K.K Singh. Father of Susant Singh Rajput"; thus making its tweets believable. The account already has more than 10,000 followers.
Click here to view the archive with the previous bio. Below is comparison of the old and now edited Twitter bio, which specifies that the account is not of KK Singh's.
The same account then later changed its bio after the handle's tweets were retweeted several times. A close observation showed that the handle had started tweeting about Bollywood's nepotistic culture and then moved on to polls demanding a CBI inquiry into the actor's death.
On July 2, a tweet by the handle referred to the late actor as 'my son' and in an emotional first person message stated that as a father, he was 'confident that Rajput did not kill himself.' Click here to view the archive of the tweet.
Tweets demanding a CBI inquiry for Rajput's death probe and moving the Supreme Court for the same, were tweeted on July 4 by the handle in first person account.