Sushant Singh Rajput death case: Congress demands probe into attempt to ‘malign’ Maharashtra

The demand came after media reports quoted Dr Sudhir Gupta, the head of an AIIMS, New Delhi, panel constituted to re-evaluate the actor’s post-mortem report, saying Rajput had died by suicide while ruling out murder

The Congress on Saturday blamed the Centre and its “media allies” for defaming Maharashtra over actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death while demanding a probe into “the conspiracy” and “the mastermind behind it”.

The Maharashtra police said Rajput died by suicide before CBI took over the case on August 5. (AFP file)

The demand came after India Today quoted Dr Sudhir Gupta, the head of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi) panel constituted to re-evaluate the actor’s post-mortem report, saying Rajput had died by suicide while ruling out murder.

“After the official confirmation by AIIMS panel head Dr. Sudhir Gupta that #SushantSinghRajput committed suicide, it is proved that investigation by @MumbaiPolice was honest and forthright. It is also clear that it was conspiracy of [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi govt with help of their fake media allies to defame Maharashtra,” tweeted Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant.

“Till yesterday the fake channels were peddling fake news of IPC [Indian Penal Code section] 302 [murder] in the case. BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] leaders kept defaming Maharashtra. CBI & other agencies kept leaking fake information. In a night thousands of fake twitter, FB [Facebook] & YouTube acs were created by BJP IT cell.”

“Now we demand govt of Maharashtra to form an SIT [Special Investigation Team] to nab the conspirators and their mastermind. Also to find the originators of SM [social media] racket by BJP IT team. And take appropriate action against these fake channels to save our democracy as their fake stories r harmful for our country,” said Sawant.

Congress is a part of the Shiv Sena-led ruling alliance in Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra police said Rajput died by suicide before CBI took over the case on August 5.

Rajput was found dead in his apartment on June 14. His family has accused actor Rhea Chakraborty of abetting his suicide and misappropriating his funds. Chakraborty is currently in jail on drug-related charges pertaining to the case.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), another constituent of the state’s ruling alliance, said the CBI should now complete its investigation in a month and bring the truth before the people. “This proves that the entire campaign was politically motivated and BJP is exposed,” said NCP spokesman and minister Nawab Malik. “They [CBI] have already taken two months, how much more time do they need?”

BJP leader Ram Kadam said the CBI investigation is still on and the aim was to ensure justice for Rajput and his family. “We have never questioned the efficiency of the Mumbai police. We wanted the state government to give free hand to the police to probe the matter.”

Kadam alleged the state government wanted to protect the drug mafia and thus never investigated that aspect.