Sanjay Gupta’s Rhea Chakraborty Comparison Sparks Online Backlash

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has landed in the middle of a social media storm after drawing a parallel between the intense public scrutiny facing Pune murder-accused Siya Goyal and the media trial actor Rhea Chakraborty endured following Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020. His comments, posted on X, quickly drew sharp pushback from users who felt the comparison was misplaced.

What Gupta Said

Responding to the ongoing coverage of the Siya Goyal case, Gupta appealed to the public and media not to repeat the pattern he believes played out with Rhea Chakraborty. He described that earlier period as a spectacle where a verdict seemed to arrive before the evidence did, cautioning that society tends not to learn from such episodes. He was careful to clarify that he wasn’t passing judgment or taking sides in the current case, only flagging what he sees as a troubling pattern of premature public condemnation.

The Case and the Criticism

Siya Goyal stands accused of conspiring with Chetan Chaudhary to murder her fiancé, Ketan Vishal Agarwal, who was allegedly pushed off a cliff. The case has attracted heavy media coverage, echoing the frenzy once seen around Chakraborty. However, many online users rejected Gupta’s analogy, arguing the two cases differ substantially in facts and context, and calling his comparison illogical or even provocative.

The backlash has reignited a broader conversation about media trials, public judgment in high-profile criminal cases, and how commentary from public figures can shape narratives before investigations conclude. As the Goyal case continues to unfold, debate over fair reporting versus sensationalism shows little sign of slowing down.