Rajput case: State may not file review plea in SC

OPPN BLAMES MISHANDLING Officials feel a series of goof-ups cost state dear

MUMBAI : While the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the Sushant Singh Rajput death is seen as a major setback for the Mumbai Police and state government, a section of the government and state cabinet blamed the “mishandling” of the case for it. The state, however, is unlikely to file a review petition against the SC order.

The state authorities goofed up on many fronts, including quarantining Patna SP Vinay Tiwari, delay in investigation, focussing on investigation on nepotism in Bollywood and failure in transparency about the case in public domain, according to leaders. A section of the state cabinet is of the opinion that the government should not have made CBI probe a “prestige issue” and could have handed it over immediately after the demand was raised. “The police kept calling the who’s who from Bollywood for investigation, but could not arrive at a conclusion even after two months. There was no proper briefing on the status of the investigation. This led to doubts and confusion about the investigating agency. The strategy for the contention in the Supreme Court too was not foolproof,” said an official from the home department.

Meanwhile, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a highlevel meeting of ministers and officials to discuss the verdict and its fallout. Home minister Anil Deshmukh said the government welcomed the SC decision and the CBI will be given full cooperation. “The SC has said the Mumbai Police has conducted the inquiry

in the case in a very professional manner. Some people are trying to politicise the issue.”

Shiv Sena leader and transport minister Anil Parab said the SC decision can’t be termed setback as they never opposed the CBI probe. “It was Rhea Chakraborty’s petition for the CBI probe which has been admitted by the court. Our contention was that it should not be handed over without our consent to safeguard the federal structure of the country. The probe by the CBI will prove the allegations levelled against Aaditya Thackeray or the government are false. The SC has categorically stated that it did not find any fault in the investigation done by Mumbai Police,” he said.

IPS officer-turned-lawyer YP Singh said, “There were doubts

raised over the investigation and conduct of the Mumbai Police. To clear all doubts and ensure justice, the SC has rightly handed over the case to CBI. Mumbai Police failed to come out clearly and maintain transparency in the investigation by briefing on a regular basis on the findings. The act of quarantining Bihar SP Vinay Tiwari was immature.”

The state BJP unit slammed the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, even as Parth, grandnephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, stirred another controversy by tweeting ‘Satyamev Jayate’ soon after the SC verdict.

Going against his party’s view, Parth had demanded a CBI probe in the case, irking his grandfather, who publicly slighted him as