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BJP leader demands NIA probe into Sushant Singh Rajput death case
In a series of tweets, P Muralidhar Rao the NIA too may have to be involved in the inquiry of the case.
P Muralidhar Rao, a national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said on Thursday that there is a scope for widening the investigation into the alleged suicide of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput by involving the National Investigation Authority (NIA). He said “web of networks” is emerging in the case.
In a series of tweets, Rao said since multiple agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have already been roped in to the probe, the NIA too may have to be involved in the inquiry.
“Abetment of suicide, unnatural death being investigated by #CBI. #ED is investigating Money laundering NCB is investigating Drug use case under NDPS Act. #NIA may have to get in – may be.!! Case is getting larger – Connecting different cases – web of networks,” he tweeted.
Rao, who is also in-charge of Karnataka for the party, went on to tweet that the demand for a wider probe is aimed at “helping clean the Bollywood movement.”
“Entire India and Indians all over are watching keenly – intensively and emotionally, Who’ever is helping & contributing for this is not fighting for #JusticeForSSR but also – helping the clean Bollywood movement. After @KanganaTeam’s tweet to @PMOIndia, #JusticeforSSR & Clean Bollywood are now getting into one big-movement Swachha Bollywood...Swachha Bharat...” he tweeted.
Also read: Rhea Chakraborty - ‘Sushant Singh Rajput used to smoke marijuana, it started during Kedarnath’
Referring to the tweets, a senior party functionary said the BJP’s demand for a thorough probe is aimed at getting the “underbelly” of the film industry exposed.
“Now there is talk of drugs and links to narcotics traders, which is a serious issue and needs to be exposed since there are links between international drug cartels and terror industry. The idea is to uncover the truth and clean up the industry,” said the functionary.
He asserted that the speculation that the party was encouraging a “witch-hunt” against actors who were critical of the government is “far-fetched” and “false”.
“The SC has already given its nod to the CBI probe and we hope that the investigation reveals the truth,” the functionary said.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the ongoing probe by the CBI into the case filed against actor Rhea Chakraborty and her family for allegedly abetting the suicide of Rajput is lawful. The top court allowed the federal agency to continue its investigation and rejected a plea by Chakraborty to transfer the case to the Maharashtra Police.
The apex court’s decision was hailed by several BJP functionaries including union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who tweeted, “Justice triumphs! The soul of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput will surely now rest in peace with the assurance of a fair investigation by CBI on the FIR filed in Patna by Bihar Police whose request for transfer of case to CBI has been validated by the Supreme Court.”
On the allegations that the BJP has been using the actor’s death as a political tool against its opponents in Maharashtra and for mopping support in election-bound Bihar, where the late actor hailed from, the functionary said, the party’s intentions are only to expose the nexus between unlawful groups and some members of the film industry.
In Maharashtra, the party has attacked the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government for stalling the investigation and forcing Patna Superintendent of Police (SP) Vinay Tiwari, who arrived in Mumbai to probe the case, to be under home quarantine.
“What the BJP is doing is cheap politics. The Supreme Court has already directed the CBI to conduct a probe and we have faith in the agency. We have nothing to fear and we should all wait for the outcome of the probe,” Shiv Sena’s Vinayak Raut told HT.
A former ally of the BJP, the Shiva Sena has also alleged that the BJP has been using the actor’s death to destabilize the government after it failed to topple the MVA government just as it did with the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.
