Bihar engages ex-AG Mukul Rohatgi to oppose Rhea Chakraborty’s plea in SC

In a major development on Thursday in the case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, the Bihar government has hired India’s former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi to oppose Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty’s interim prayer that the probe by the state’s police be stayed till the Supreme Court decides her plea on transfer of investigation from Bihar to Mumbai.

Principal additional advocate general, Bihar, Lalit Kishore confirmed that Nitish Kumar’s government is set to oppose Rhea Chakraborty’s plea before the top court and support Sushant’s family in the case. “The caveat has already been filed,” he said.

Soon after Rhea moved the Supreme Court, Sushant Singh’s family filed a caveat seeking that her petition not be allowed to be heard “ex-parte” in their counter-petition. The family’s lawyer Vikas Singh will be present in the court for the proceedings. Caveat is a type of petition filed to pre-empt any ex-parte order on the plea filed by opposite side.

Rhea Chakraborty, who has been accused of abetting Sushant’s suicide, moved the apex court on Wednesday pleading for the transfer of the investigation from Bihar to Mumbai, as the investigation in Mumbai was still pending.

Following pressure by Sushant’s family members, the Bihar government is also likely to recommend a CBI probe into the ‘’mysterious’’ suicide of the actor.

Officials at the state police headquarters said he police was already investigating the case, but the government might recommend a CBI inquiry into the matter in following the demand of the bereaved family members.

Officials said a four-member Patna police team has made progress in the case and had extensively interrogated six members including cook of the actor. The official said that Bihar government had the right to recommend a CBI probe. The government is waiting for the return of police team from Mumbai after collecting evidences.

The Patna police team also visited Kotak Bank’s Bandra West branch in Mumbai where the late actor had an account.

The visit of the Patna police team has caused friction with Maharastra with the state’s minister of state for home Shambhuraj Desai alleging that Bihar policemen did not follow protocol.

“Whenever a police team from a state visits another state for investigation, there are some protocols which are to be followed. These were not followed,” Desai told a news channel.

But Central Range IG (Bihar) Sanjay Singh told HT that the Patna police team left Bihar following his order and informed Mumbai police when team arrived there.

Y V Giri, a senior advocate in the Patna high court said that if Sushant’s family moves the SC for a CBI probe, court will hear the plea and recommend the probe. He said if state government wants to transfer the matter to the CBI, it can also do so legally.

Another senior advocate Yogesh Chandra Verma told reporters said that Bihar government is well within the right to recommend a CBI probe.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked Bihar police to give the copy of the FIR registered by it. The ED is likely to probe into the alleged money laundering angle in the sensational case.

Reports had claimed that the actor’s father in his complaint had mentioned that around ₹15 crore was transferred to various unknown accounts from Sushant’s bank account. The central probe agency has stepped in to probe the alleged financial irregularities in the late Bollywood actor’s two companies Vividrage Rheality and Front India for World Foundation.

Rhea and her brother Showik are the directors in the first company. Showik is also a director in the second one.