August 5 was a big day for India and Indians all over the globe. While the foundation laying of Shri Ram Temple at Ayodhya took place to the utmost delight of Indians, fans of Sushant Singh Rajput had a victory of sorts in the Supreme Court of India when they heard the CBI will investigate Sushant’s death.
People fighting for #JusticeforSushant and asking for CBI inquiry into his death were delighted to hear the news that the Centre government had accepted Sushant’s family’s request for CBI inquiry which was endorsed by the Bihar government.
At the start of the hearing, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India although not a party to the proceeding, told the Court that the Centre had accepted the Bihar government’s recommendation for a CBI probe into the case.
The revelation came as a pleasant surprise to all and perhaps His Honour Judge Hrishikesh Roy as well, who taking note of the SG’s submission, Justice Roy went on to observe,
“Rajput was a talented artist who passed away under unusual circumstances. Now whether there is criminality involved needs to be investigated…”.
At this point appearing for Chakraborty, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan sought an interim order of protection for Rhea Chakraborty.
That submission was opposed by Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the family of Sushant Singh Rajput. He said,
“There should be no protective order as evidence will be tampered with.”
Singh also pointed out developments in the investigation by the Bihar Police. Referring to Disha Salian’s file going missing (deleted) and IPS Officer of Bihar Police being quarantined, he submitted:
“Evidence is being destroyed in the case. The investigating officer was quarantined. This is unbelievable.”
SG Mehta requested the Court to add the Union of India as a party to the case. Accepting the request, Justice Roy asked the Centre to file an impleadment application. Without granting Rhea any interim relief, His Honour Judge Roy went on to note in its order,
“Serious allegations have been leveled against the petitioner. She has applied for transfer of proceedings from Patna to Mumbai…Bihar Police has already entrusted investigation to CBI. SG Mehta has stated that in principle, Centre has accepted the CBI probe request.”
Judge Roy has given Mumbai police to submit a report on its investigation in three days and the matter comes back before the court next week.
Readers would know today was the hearing of Rhea Chakraborty’s application for transfer of Bihar FIR and its related investigation to Mumbai police and not CBI, although earlier Rhea herself had asked for a CBI probe.
The Centre in the evening issued a notification asking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over investigation into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
“A notification has been issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), paving way for the CBI probe in Rajput’s death case,” a senior official said.
A CBI spokesperson said, “We have received the notification and will soon take up the investigation into the case.”
For those who do not know, the CBI or Central Bureau of Investigation operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Thus the notification issued by the DoPT.
The current director of CBI is IPS officer of 1982 batch Mr Rishi Kumar Shukla.
It is expected the agency would register an FIR paving the way to commence the investigation.