Sushant Singh Rajput investigation on, no aspect ruled out: CBI
More than four months after taking charge of the mysterious death case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said that it is probing all aspects of the case and nothing has been ruled out yet. The investigating agency said so in its response to MP Subramanian Swamy's query about the status of the probe. Here are more details.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy had written to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) inquiring about the status of the investigation, after which the PMO forwarded the letter to the CBI. To recall, an expert panel of doctors from Delhi's AIIMS had earlier opined that it was a case of suicide, thereby dismissing theories of murder and poisoning around the actor's shocking death.
In its response to Swamy, the probe agency said, "The CBI is conducting investigation in a thorough and professional manner using latest scientific techniques. During investigation, all aspects are being looked at and no aspect has been ruled out as on date." Further, advanced mobile forensic equipment have been used for the extraction and analysis of relevant data, it added.
"During investigation, all the witnesses have been examined to understand the circumstances and apprehensions raised by the complainant and his family members and other independent sources. Intensive and thorough investigation has been carried out in this regard," the CBI further said. The investigating team has visited "all places of concern - Aligarh, Faridabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Manesar and Patna," it added.
"The investigating team and senior officers have visited the place of incident on numerous occasions for better understanding of the circumstances related to the incident," the agency stated. Referring to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, it added, "The experts of CFSL, New Delhi, considered the best in their field in India, also visited and examined the place of incident."
Sushant Rajput, 34, was found dead inside his apartment in Mumbai on June 14. At the time, the Mumbai Police had called it a case of suicide. However, a month later, the actor's family filed a case in Bihar accusing his girlfriend, fellow actor Rhea Chakraborty of financially cheating him and driving him to suicide. That complaint was eventually handed over to the CBI.
Apart from the CBI, two other central agencies, viz. the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are also looking into the matter. While the ED is probing allegations of money laundering, the NCB has launched an anti-drug probe in the Hindi film industry, as part of which many popular actors like Deepika Padukone and Arjun Rampal have thus far been questioned.
