CBI begins probe into SSR case, forms several teams

Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS): The CBI on Friday formally launched a probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Hours after landing along with a CFSL team, the central agency by afternoon had already met with the Mumbai Police, collected documents, including Sushant’s diary, laptop and mobile and also interrogated a few of the key witnesses.

Two months and a week since Sushant was found dead at his Bandra home, the CBI team has sped up the investigation after the Supreme Court’s nod on Wednesday to the federal agency probe. The CBI team is expected to camp in Mumbai for 10 days, and they have their plans ready as they grouped into several teams, each with its task deliniated.

Led by SIT official Nupur Prasad, the central agency team arrived at the office of the Bandra DCP earlier and met the Mumbai Police officers, who have been handling the investigation. According to official sources, the CBI sleuths were given a detailed briefing on the current case status by Mumbai Police.

The team of CBI officials from Delhi, who along with the forensic team that landed here on Thursday, tookover the case documents, all evidence collected so far, statements recorded till date, among other details from the Mumbai Police first thing in the morning.

The agency has formed four or five small teams — one will liaise with police, another take the crime spot probe, the others will do the field probes, witnesses, and interrogation.

The sources said that Sushant’s death scene of June 14 will be recreated at his Bandra flat in a day or so and all the first five persons who had reached the spot minutes after the actor’s death, will be questioned.

The agency will also speak to those doctors who conducted Sushant’s autopsy. If required the team will also speak to the Mumbai Police DCP, with whom the family of Sushant shared a WhatsApp message in February this year citing alleged threats to Sushant’s life.

The agency will ask for the call detail records of Sushant, his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and others. The CBI and CFSL team has been exempted from the mandatory quarantine as per rules, by the BMC.

Earlier on Friday, the federal agency recorded the statement of Sushant’s cook Neeraj and personal staff Dipesh Swant. In all probability it will also question Rhea Chakraborty’s relatives later in the day.

The sources also said that in the coming days the agency will also call Rhea and other people named in the FIR for questioning.

The CBI team is currently staying at the IAF Guest House in Santacruz area of the city.

On August 6, after a recommendation by the Bihar government, the CBI had taken over the probe into the death of the 34-year-old actor on the orders of the central government following an FIR lodged by the deceased’s father at Patna’s Rajiv Nagar police station.

The case was registered against Rhea Chakraborty, her father Indrajit, mother Sandhya, brother Showik, Sushant’s ex-manager Shruti Modi and flatmate Samuel Miranda and unknown persons on the basis of Sushant’s father K.K. Singh’s complaint that was filed on July 25.