Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its radio silence regarding the probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case and the New Delhi-based All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences’ (AIIMS) panel report that was made public in October.
The party has questioned if the central investigating agency is under political pressure to keep mum in the case, which has caught the nation’s imagination, till the ongoing three-phase Bihar elections end on November 7.
Sachin Sawant, general secretary of the MPCC and a party spokesperson, tweeted on Monday morning: “Is the CBI following code of conduct for Bihar elections in the #SushantSinghRajputCase? Why no action and statement has been made even after the AIIMS panel submitted its report? It has been a month since the AIIMS panel report was made public. Has the Narendra Modi-led government told them (CBI) to keep matters in abeyance until Bihar elections are over.”
Sawant found it strange that the CBI did not utter a word on the status of the probe in the case after more than two months of taking it over and a month after the AIIMS panel report was submitted.
“We have two questions for the CBI. Is it silent because of the prevailing code of conduct for the Bihar elections? We would also like to know if there is any pressure from the Modi government directing the CBI not to issue any statement in the case until the elections are over. The political use of the CBI in this episode and an attempt to defame Maharashtra has been established. It is high time for the central probe agency to speak up,” he said.
Rajput (34) was found dead at his Bandra apartment on June 14. The investigation of the case was handed over to the CBI from Mumbai Police in August after an order from the Supreme Court (SC).
The AIIMS panel report ruled out the possibility of poisoning as the cause Rajput’s death.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition in Maharashtra, had criticised Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, comprising the Shiv Sena, the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, and Mumbai Police for their inept handling of the investigation into Rajput’s death.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Atul Bhatkhalkar said the Congress leaders should not be impatient as the CBI is doing its job professionally and will soon come out with the report. “There is no question of political use of the investigating agency. Had it been the motive of the BJP, there could have been arrests of political leaders here. CBI has been doing the probe very professionally and will soon come out with the report in the SSR death case. Congress leaders should not forget that there was not a single arrest for nine months in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s killing in 2013 when Congress was in power here,” he said.
