Bihar Chief Minister recommends CBI probe into Sushant Singh Rajput's death

KATHMANDU: The Bihar government has decided to recommend a CBI inquiry into the death of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput, on request from his father KK Singh.

According to PTI, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that he was informed by the Bihar Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey about his talk with the late actor's father seeking an inquiry by the central investigating agency into the matter.

"The state government will formally recommend the case to be handed over to the CBI today itself after completing all the procedures and formalities," the CM was quoted as saying.

The development comes a day before the Supreme Court is slated to hear a petition of Rajput's rumoured girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, an accused in the FIR filed in Patna, seeking transfer of the case to Mumbai, where an investigation in the matter is already on.

The state governments of Bihar and Maharashtra have already filed separate caveats in the top court seeking to be heard before any order is passed on Chakraborty's plea, as per PTI. The father of the late actor has also filed a caveat in the apex court.

According to PTI, Rajput's father made a plea for the CBI inquiry citing hurdles created by the Mumbai police to the investigating team of the Patna police to prevent fair probe.

After series of complaints against the Mumbai police for not cooperating with the four-member Patna police probe team, the acrimony between Maharashtra and Bihar police over jurisdictional issues escalated after an IPS officer, who had landed in Mumbai on August 2 to lead the SIT probe in the case, was quarantined under the COVID-19 regulations in force in the city.

Bihar police have lodged a formal protest with the Mumbai municipal authorities over the "forcible quarantine" of Vinay Tiwari who was on official duty.

According to PTI, the matter came up in the Bihar Legislative Assembly o August 3 where Legislators cutting across party lines unanimously demanded a CBI probe into the case.

Rajput was found hanging in his rented apartment in Mumbai's Bandra on June 14.