2 yrs on, CBI yet to make headway in case
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Two years after Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is yet to establish whether the actor died by suicide or there was a conspiracy in his death.
Investigators have remained tight-lipped on their findings, insisting that the agency is looking into all possible angles.
“There is no change in the status of case,” an official said, seeking anonymity.
The CBI declined to comment on the matter on Monday.
In the 22 months since the agency took over the probe in August 2020, it has examined several witnesses multiple times, carried out detailed analysis of Singh’s social media accounts and a psychiatric evaluation of his state of mind prior to his death.
The 34-year-old actor was found dead in his apartment in Mumbai’s Bandra on June 14. Rajput’s father, KK Singh, lodged a complaint with Patna police against his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her parents and her brother, Showik, on June 25. The case was transferred to the CBI to look at the death from the conspiracy angle. Mumbai police, which initially looked into it, didn’t find any foul play.
The investigations have not been concluded even after such a long time as the probe team wants to carefully go through all the evidence before taking a decision, a second official said, declining to be named.
A medical board of All India Institute of Medical Sciences concluded in September 2020 that the actor’s death was a case of suicide. The board had said the cause of actor’s death was asphyxia due to hanging.
There was no injury or struggle marks on his body and his clothing was not disturbed.
Singh’s family has, however, called the findings faulty.