Mumbai/Patna: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput was suffering from bipolar disorder, a mental condition characterised by extreme mood swings, at the time of his death, Mumbai police chief Parambir Singh said on Monday amid clamour by Bihar politicians for a CBI probe. Meanwhile, in a startling claim, Rajput''s father said he had forewarned Mumbai police about threat to the actors life way back in February but it failed to take note of it and also did not act upon complaints against named persons a day after his death in June. Amid escalating acrimony between Maharashtra and Bihar police over jurisdictional issues, an IPS officer who had landed in Mumbai on Sunday for leading the SIT probe in the case, was quarantined under the COVID-19 regulations in force in the city, a development Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called "inappropriate and forcible".
Bihar police chief Gupteshwar Pandey said in Patna that the state police will lodge a formal protest with the Mumbai municipal authorities over the "forcible quarantine" of Vinay Tiwari who was on official duty. The issue resonated in the two Houses of Bihar legislature, with lawmakers across the political divide demanding a CBI investigation into the death of the 34-year- old Patna-born actor. Both Mumbai and Patna police are probing the case parallelly. Rajput, who impressed his audience with his performances during his short but promising career, was found hanging in his rented apartment in Mumbai''s Bandra on June 14. "It was found that the actor had bipolar disorder, and was undergoing treatment and taking medicines for it.
What circumstances led to his death is the subject of our investigation," Mumbai police commissioner Singh said. There is no question of non-cooperation with the Bihar police team which is in the city in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, Singh said, adding Mumbai police are seeking legal opinion on the matter. He said Patna police should have lodged a "zero FIR" and transferred it to Mumbai police as the incident had happened under the latter''s jurisdiction. Meanwhile, actor Rhea Chakraborty''s advocate refuted Bihar Police''s claim that she was "missing", and said till date she has not received any summons from them over the death of Rajput.
In his complaint on which an FIR was lodged on July 25, Rajput''s father K K Singh accused Chakraborty and her family members of abetting his son''s suicide, besides defrauding him of his money and subjecting him to blackmail. In a video statement, Singh claimed he had forewarned Mumbai police about the threat to Rajput''s life way back in February and also "named" a few persons who, he suspected, were behind his death. "I had told the Mumbai police in February that my son Sushant faced a threat to his life but it did nothing. When my son died on June 14, I requested them to take action against named persons. But nothing came of it even after 40 days. Left with no other option, I lodged a case at a police station here in Patna," he said.
The Mumbai police commissioner, however, insisted at his press conference that Rajput''s family had made no such complaint. "The statements of Sushant''s father, sister and brother-in-law were recorded on June 16. At that time, they neither raised any suspicion nor complained about any lapse in our probe," he said. "The FIR by Bihar police says Rs 15 crore were siphoned off from Sushant''s account. During the probe, we found he had Rs 18 crore in his account of which around Rs 4.5 crore are still there," he said. There is no confirmation yet of a direct transfer to the account of Rhea Chakraborty, he added.
The Enforcement Directorate, meanwhile, questioned Rajput''s chartered accountant (CA) in connection with a money laundering probe that has stemmed from the complaint lodged by Rajput''s father, officials said. They said Sandeep Shridhar was questioned in Mumbai by the central probe agency and his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). At least two companies linked to Rajput and some financial deals involving Chakraborty and her brother Showik are under the ED scanner. Chakraborty, her bother and others are expected to be summoned by the agency for questioning soon. Political lines got blurred as the bicameral Bihar legislature demanded a CBI inquiry into Rajput''s death.
The demand was first raised by Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu, a BJP MLA and the deceased star''s cousin. Requesting Nitish Kumar to recommend a CBI probe, he said, "It is evident that the Maharashtra government is trying to put hurdles in the way of Bihar police, preventing it from investigating the matter properly. Bablu''s wife Nutan Singh, a BJP MLC, also raised the issue in the legislative council. The demand received bipartisan support, with leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav saying,"I had written a letter to the CBI shortly after Rajput''s death and also requested that the upcoming film city in Rajgir be named after the deceased actor."
Mumbai police commissioner Singh said after registering an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the case, the investigation is in progress and till now statements of 56 people have been recorded. The statements of Sushant''s sisters have also been recorded, he said. Sushant was upset after he was linked with the death of his former manager Disha Salian on June 8, he said. "No politician''s name has come up during the probe so far. There is no evidence against any politician from any party," Singh said, referring to a query on the name of a prominent young Maharashtra politician being mentioned on social media.
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