No need for CBI probe in Sushant death case: Anil Deshmukh

Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found dead in his Bandra apartment in Mumbai on June 14.

There was no need for a CBI probe into the death case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput as the Mumbai police were capable of handling the matter, said Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday.

The police were also examining the angle of “business rivalry” in the case, he said. Rajput, 34, was found dead in his Bandra apartment in Mumbai on June 14 and what the police claimed was a case of suicide. In the initial investigation, the Mumbai police had found that the actor was under medication for depression.

On Thursday, Rajput’s friend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, in a tweet, demanded a CBI inquiry to understand what “pressures” prompted Rajput to take the extreme step of suicide. Chakraborty said though she has “complete faith” in the government, a CBI inquiry would help bring justice to the case.

Talking to PTI, Deshmukh said the Mumbai police were conducting a detailed inquiry into the actor’s death and also recording statements of people concerned.

“There was no need to give the case to the CBI. Our police officials are capable and doing the inquiry in right way. We are also examining the angle of business rivalry,” said Deshmukh. So far, the police have recorded the statements of more than two dozen people, including Chakraborty, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bollywood casting director Mukesh Chhabra and Rajput’s family members, as part of probe into the suicide, which jolted the Hindi film industry.

Rajput starred in films such as ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’, ‘Raabta’, ‘Kedarnath’ and ‘Sonchiriya’. But his most prominent role came as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic, ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’.