Ally Chirag Paswan Needles Nitish Kumar On Sushant Rajput Death Probe

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death investigation is the new point of conflict between Nitish Kumar and his ally Chirag Paswan, who has questioned what he calls an absence of any initiative on the Bihar Chief Minister's part for a "promising young man" from his state.

Chirag Paswan, the chief of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday and called for a CBI investigation. Yesterday, Sushant Singh Rajput's father filed an FIR (First Information Report) with the Patna Police against the actor's friend Rhea Charkraborty, accusing her of harassing him, taking his money and property, cheating and abetment to suicide.

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

The actor's family, based in Bihar, has reportedly said it is not satisfied with the Mumbai Police investigations.

Reacting to the FIR in Bihar, Chirag Paswan said it was already "too late in the day", that action should have been taken weeks ago.

"I was expecting the Bihar government and police to take action proactively," he said.

"My Chief Minister needs to be more active. I don't understand. If I can have a word with the Maharashtra Chief Minister, why can't my Chief Minister speak with him and ask him for CBI probe?"

The comments point at the rapid sharpening of Mr Paswan's offensive against Nitish Kumar just months before the Bihar election that they are to fight together.

"I had a word with Uddhav Thackeray last night, requested him to hand over case to CBI. The Chief Minister was very confident about his department and assured that the investigation is going in the right direction. He said no biggies will be left out. Every name circulating in the media will be investigated," Mr Paswan said.

"A person from Bihar got murdered or suicide... I don't know. I just know that a young man from Bihar died in another state and that needs to be investigated. My government needs to be more active. Sushant Singh Rajput was loved worldwide. If my state government doesn't react on a case like this, how can there be any assurance for others like Sushant in the rest of the country?"

The 37-year-old MP, who joined politics after a brief dalliance with films, reacted with candour to the nepotism debate that has wracked the Hindi film industry since the actor's death.

"I myself am the outcome of nepotism. I am no one to comment on nepotism and I have never experienced it. Perhaps the correct word would be groupism," Mr Paswan said.