‘Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide, there can be no doubts now’: AIIMS panel head responds to claims of ‘U-turn’, viral video

Dr Sudhir Gupta, who headed the AIIMS panel tasked with re-evaluating Sushant Singh Rajput’s post-mortem report, has responded to news stories circulating about his alleged change of heart. An old interview of Dr Gupta, in which he says that protocol wasn’t followed by officials who conducted Sushant’s post-mortem, resurfaced on Monday, days after he said that the actor died by suicide.

The doctor confirmed that with the knowledge that he has now, and didn’t a few months ago, there can be no doubt that Sushant died by suicide. He also responded to a viral video that claimed that he earlier thought Sushant Singh Rajput was murdered. “Yes, everyone doubted when CBI started its investigation. We investigated all doubts and then came with this opinion. Now, there should be no doubts. It was a seven member team of doctors who came to this conclusion that SSR died by suicide,” he told India Today. Dr Gupta said that when he had made his previous statement, crime scene pictures hadn’t been made available to the forensics team.

On Saturday, while speaking to media, Dr Gupta ruled out the murder theory. “There were no injuries on the body other than of hanging. There were no marks of struggle/scuffle on the body and clothes of the deceased,” Dr Gupta told ANI, adding, “The presence of any sedative material was not detected by Bombay FSL and AIIMS toxicology lab. The complete examination of ligature mark over the neck was consistent with hanging.”

Many, including Sushant’s sister and Vikas Singh, the lawyer representing the family, have expressed dissatisfaction with the AIIMS report. Shweta in a social media post said that ‘all eyes are on the CBI’, as the family awaits official word on the case. “This kind of U-turn must be investigated,” Shweta had demanded in an Instagram post, reacting to Dr Gupta’s resurfaced interview.

Vikas Singh had tweeted, “Highly perturbed with AIIMS report. Going to request CBI Director to constitute a fresh Forensic team . How could AIIMS team give a conclusive report in the absence of the body,that too on such shoddy post mortem done by Cooper hospital wherein time of death also not mentioned.”

Sushant died on June 14. The investigation into his death is being conducted by the CBI. The Narcotics Control Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate are probing separate angles in the case.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

Follow @htshowbiz for more