The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned a man, who was employed as Sushant Singh Rajput’s cook, for the second day on Saturday in connection with the death of the Bollywood actor in June, news agency ANI reported.
A team of CBI officials questioned Neeraj Singh at the guest house in Santacruz area of Mumbai, where they are staying. A team of forensic experts also reached the guest house, according to ANI. Singh and Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda were questioned on Friday.
The central probe agency has set up four teams to investigate the circumstances surrounding Rajput’s death. One team will focus on translating documents from Marathi to English, while another will question people involved in the case. Another team will coordinate with superiors in Delhi and handle logistics in Mumbai.
According to officials privy to the probe, the central agency will also question the actor’s manager Deepesh Sawant, said sources in the CBI.
A team of officials met deputy commissioner of police (Zone 9) Abhishek Trimukhe on Friday at his office in Bandra to collect documents, including the forensic report and post-mortem reports as well as statements of more than 60 people whom Mumbai Police had questioned as part of its investigation. These and other material evidence were handed over to the CBI team, said sources in Mumbai Police.
CBI will also collect other evidence, including Rajput’s personal items including three mobile phones, a laptop, clothes, a blanket, bedsheets, a green kurta, a glass; and CCTV footage of his house and building, added sources in CBI.
According to sources, once the documentation is complete, CBI plans to visit the actor’s flat in Bandra and recreate the scene of his death scientifically, using weights.
The actor was found dead in his apartment on June 14, following which Mumbai Police had registered a case of accidental death. Later, Rajput’s father filed a police complaint in Bihar, accusing actor Rhea Chakraborty and her family of abetting Rajput’s suicide and misappropriating his money.
A first information report (FIR) was filed by Patna Police on the basis of the complaint and it later handed over the case to CBI. The Enforcement Directorate also filed a case on July 31, to probe the allegations of money laundering.
CBI has also approached the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and the premier hospital formed a five-member medical board of forensic experts to look into the autopsy files related to Rajput’s death.
“We will look into the possibility of murder. However, all probable angles will be thoroughly examined,” AIIMS’ forensic department chief Dr Sudhir Gupta, who will lead the team, told PTI.
Gupta said the team will evaluate the injury pattern on Rajput’s body and correlate it with circumstantial evidence. “The preserved viscera will be examined and the anti-depressants that were given to Rajput will also be analysed at the AIIMS laboratory,” Gupta said.
The probe agency, in its letter to the premier medical institute, has said it will provide the team of forensic experts with the necessary medical papers, post-mortem reports, videographs and viscera reports at the earliest.
