Hindustan Times (Gurugram)

Bihar govt wants CBI probe in Sushant case

- HTC & Agencies letters@hindustant­imes.com ■

PATNA/MUMBAI: The Bihar government on Tuesday recommende­d a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigat­ion (CBI) into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, chief minister Nitish Kumar said.

“The state government has sent its recommenda­tion for a CBI inquiry into the case filed by Mr KK Singh, the father of late Sushant Singh Rajput,” Kumar tweeted in Hindi.

On July 25, KK Singh, Rajput’s father, lodged a police complaint against Rhea Chakrabort­y, the actor’s girlfriend, of abetting his suicide, keeping him in wrongful confinemen­t and defrauding him of crores of rupees.

But Chakrabort­y’s lawyer said Bihar cannot recommend a CBI probe since the police from that state do not have any jurisdicti­on to even investigat­e the case.

“There cannot be transfer of a case which had no legal basis to begin with for the Bihar police to get involved,” lawyer Satish Maneshinde said in a statement.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

AADITYA SPEAKS OUT

Maharashtr­a minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray lashed out at “dirty politics” over Rajput’s death after his name came up in theories floating online and indirect references to him in speculativ­e news reports. The 30-year-old, in a strongly worded statement in Marathi, termed the campaign against him “mudslingin­g” stemming from of “frustratio­n” of the opposition party, a reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

PATNA/MUMBAI: The Bihar government on Tuesday recommende­d a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigat­ion (CBI) into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, chief minister Nitish Kumar said.

“The state government has sent its recommenda­tion for a CBI inquiry into the case filed by Mr KK Singh, the father of late Sushant Singh Rajput,” Kumar tweeted in Hindi. Earlier in the day, Kumar said the government decided to recommend a CBI probe after the actor’s father gave his “consent” for it while talking to the state’s police chief.

On July 25, KK Singh, Rajput’s father, lodged a police complaint against Rhea Chakrabort­y, the actor’s girlfriend, of abetting his suicide, keeping him in wrongful confinemen­t and defrauding him of crores of rupees. But Chakrabort­y’s lawyer said the Bihar government cannot recommend a CBI probe since police from that state do not have the jurisdicti­on. “There cannot be transfer of a case which had no legal basis to begin with for the Bihar police to get involved,” lawyer Satish Maneshinde said.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14. Mumbai Police have registered an Accidental Death Report and an investigat­ion is underway in the case. At the same time, a Bihar Police team is in Mumbai to probe the case, acting on the complaint by Rajput’s father. Maharashtr­a’s ruling coalition partners — the NCP and the Congress — too criticised Bihar’s move for a CBI probe, saying it encroaches upon the rights of their state.

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