Sushant Singh Rajput suicide: Maharashtra CM meets top cops

Amid a stand-off between the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday held a briefing with director general of police Subodh Jaiswal and city police commissioner Parambir Singh at his official residence, Varsha, in Malabar Hill.

The CM held the meeting in the backdrop of the tug-of-war over the probe between the Mumbai and Bihar Police as well as Opposition’s demands to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A senior Sena leader said Thackeray was irked by the allegations made in social media about “so-called lapses” in the investigation and wanted a clear update on the trajectory of the city police probe.

Thackeray had slammed the BJP a day earlier for politicising the issue and not showing trust in Mumbai Police’s capabilities. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had called for CBI and Enforcement Directorate probe, pointing out that people had lost faith in police probe, given the number of conspiracy theories and doubts that were floating around.

On Sunday, party MLA from Andheri Ameet Satam wrote to the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) probing the case to investigate certain aspects into the deaths of Rajput and Salian to “clear the air and pave the road towards reaching a logical conclusion”.

The letter sent to DCP of zone 9, Abhishek Trimukhe, raises six questions, asking the city police to look into the parties that Salian and Rajput had participated in or hosted before their deaths. It sought clarity over the findings of the post-mortem report of Salian as well as shedding light on whether she was part of any party before she died and who were present at this party.

“Whom did she speak to or message on the phone 24 hours before her death? Are the mobile tower location of the place she was when she died being probed to find out who all were present and whom she met before she died,” asked the letter.

Satam also asked if Rajput’s sister’s statement has been recorded to find out whether the actor was scared or threatened after Salian’s death. He also raised questions over whether Rajput used different mobile SIMs from June 8 to June 14.

The letter refers to a party Rajput attended or hosted on June 13, a day before his death. “Who all were present for the party? Is the CCTV footage of his building and surrounding area recorded,” asked the letter.

The asked if the police have questioned all three servants in Rajput’s house as well as his two close friends Sandeep Singh and Mahesh Shetty and manager Siddharth Pithani. He also called for reinvestigation into the preserved viscera of Rajput.

The issue of parties and presence of others at these get-togethers was also raised by former minister and BJP city chief Ashish Shelar on Sunday. Shelar tweeted: “There is a constant reference about celebrity parties in the context of Sushant Singh Rajput’s case. During lockdown when one could not even attend the last rites of one’s mother, under whose blessings did these parties continue? Ministers? Officials? CBI inquiry must happen.”

Even senior Sena minister and a close aide of Thackeray, Anil Parab, raised the issue, a day ago.

State home minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday condemned the “politicisation” of the Rajput case. He said, “The death by suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput is being probed by Mumbai police. Even though a case has been registered in Patna, under Criminal Procedure chapter 12 and 13 the investigation is carried out where the incident happens and the trial is also held in their jurisdiction. The Mumbai Police is investigating this case closely and are capable of unearthing the truth. Despite this demand is being made for political dividends to transfer the case to CBI. I condemn this.”