CBI probe into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death veering off track, say family, lawyer

The case of Sushant Singh Rajput’s unnatural death was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Centre on 5 August accepted the Bihar government’s recommendation for a CBI investigation.

But Rajput’s family and their lawyer Vikas Singh are dissatisfied with the manner in which the investigation has proceeded so far. They believe it is going off track after the CBI brought the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) into the picture.

The NCB got involved when an alleged narcotic drugs angle cropped up in the case. Since then, Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik Chakraborty and a few others have been arrested.

“The family feels the probe is being taken in a different direction," Vikas Singh said in a statement to the Asian News International (ANI) agency. "All attention is being diverted towards the drugs case. An AIIMS doctor told me that Sushant’s death was by strangulation.”

What has further irked the family and their lawyer is that the CBI has not given any press briefing on the case so far. “Today, we are helpless as we don’t know which direction the case is going in," Vikas Singh said. "Till today, the CBI has not done a press briefing on what they have found. I’m not happy with the speed at which the case is going.”

Rajput was found hanging in his apartment in Bandra, Mumbai, on 14 June.