"Matter Has Now Turned Political": Bihar Top Cop On Sushant Rajput Death

As probe intensifies in Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, Bihar top cop Gupteshwar Pandey on Tuesday said "the matter has now turned political". He also added that "it's unfortunate that allegations are being leveled against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar" amid the probe. 

"When the incident happened, we didn't anticipate the ugly turns... the matter has now turned political," Mr Pandey told NDTV.

On Shiv Sena's allegation that Bihar's investigation into the death is a "political conspiracy against the Maharashtra government", Mr Pandey said: "The Chief Minister Of Bihar had nothing to do with the case. It's the duty of local police to file a case and investigate. It's just unfortunate that different kind of allegations have been leveled against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar." 

Sushant Singh Rajput, whose last movie "Dil Bechara" released in July, was found dead at his home in Mumbai's Bandra on June 14; Mumbai Police had said it was a suicide case.

Last month, the Bollywood actor's family in Patna had filed a First Information Report or FIR that named his friend Rhea Chakraborty; she was accused of financially cheating the 34-year-old actor and driving him to suicide. 

This, even as the Mumbai Police were also conducting inquest proceedings and had recorded the family's statement as a part of the probe. A probe was also launched by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to look into the allegations of money-laundering.

Sushant Singh Rajput death: Rhea Chakraborty has been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate.

As turf war continues between two states, Bihar argued in the Supreme Court on Tuesday that its case was the only one regarding the death of Sushant Rajput and Maharashtra has filed none in two months, despite questioning dozens of people.

Hours after the hearing in the top court, Bihar police chief Gupteshwar Pandey told NDTV: "I am of the view that Bihar holds a jurisdiction (in the case)... there is a money trail involved. Sushant was not married, his father is now his heir (to take the case forward)."

The top court on Tuesday was hearing the appeal of Rhea Chakraborty, who wanted the case against her filed in Patna transferred to Mumbai. 

Critics have linked the investigation in Bihar to the upcoming state polls. The Mumbai Police says that since the incident took place in Mumbai and the people named in the complaint are residents of Mumbai, only they have the jurisdiction in the case.

On controversy that broke out after the Mumbai civic body quarantined IPS officer Vinay Tiwari last week, Mr Pandey said: "When IPS officer Vinay Kumar went there to fill communication gaps, he was quarantined within hours; he was not told about jurisdiction issue... he had informed officers concerned before his visit," the top cop said.

Sushant Singh Rajput's death in June had triggered a debate about mental health. 

Answering a question about progress made by his team so far in the case, the top cop said: "We took statements from 10 people. We don't have medico-legal evidence, FSL (forensic science laboratory) report or CCTV footage. Whatever evidence we have collected, we can reveal details only on the right platform."

Amid controversy about a probe by the central agencies - CBI and ED- Mr Pandey said: "Whatever be the consequences, it takes time to investigate some cases... It's not just about the CBI. Any investigating agency in the world can't predict the time of investigation."

Last week, Maharashtra's ruling party- Shiv Sena- had criticised the Nitish Kumar government over the case. The Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut today reiterated that the parallel probes are "a conspiracy against the Maharashtra Government".

"Bihar government should not have interfered in the matter of Sushant Singh Rajput. Over the last few years, Sushant was a Mumbaikar. Mumbai gave him prosperity and Bihar didn't stand by him during his struggle," an article in Sena mouthpiece "Saamna" read on Sunday.