Fake news: Harsh Vardhan denies offering personal cognisance of Sushant Singh Rajput's death

NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday took to Twitter to refute media reports that he has offered to take personal cognisance of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

Terming such claims made in certain sections of the media as "fake news", Vardhan urged people to refrain from believing any unverified statements.

"An INCORRECT claim is being made in a section of the media that I have offered to take personal cognisance of actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case. I've NOT spoken to anyone nor offered to examine any case. Pls refrain from believing any unverified statements," he said a tweet.

The AIIMS on Monday said the medical board has submitted its report in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput to the CBI and any inputs on the report submitted by the panel would have to be obtained from the central probe agency.

The AIIMS' medical board has ruled out murder as the cause of Rajput's death, terming it "a case of hanging and death by suicide," the premier institute's forensic chief Dr Sudhir Gupta had said late last week.

In its conclusive medico-legal opinion to the CBI, the six-member team dismissed the claims of "poisoning and strangling", with Dr Gupta saying the panel did not find any trace of poison and drugs in the viscera.

"The Medical Board has submitted the report directly to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as required. Being a legal matter, any inputs on the report submitted by the Medical Board would have to be obtained from the CBI," the AIIMS said in a statement.

ALSO READ | Madhya Pradesh woman claims to have information in Sushant Singh Rajput case, seeks security

The statement follows certain media reports questioning the outcome of the medical board's examination and Gupta's comments ruling out murder.

"It is a case of hanging and death by suicide. We have submitted our conclusive report to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)," Dr Gupta, who is also the chairman of the forensic medical board had said on Saturday.

There was no injury on the body other than that of hanging.

Also, there was no mark of struggle and scuffle.

The ligature mark on the neck was consistent with hanging, he said.

The doctors' panel did not find any trace of poison and drugs in the viscera, Dr Gupta had told PTI, but refused to divulge any further details stating the case is subjudice.

Rajput, 34, who made his silver screen debut in the critically acclaimed 'Kai Po Che' seven years ago, was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14.

The CBI had taken over the probe from Bihar Police into the alleged abetment to suicide case filed by the actor's father K K Singh in Patna against Rajput's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family.