Rhea Chakraborty, who has denied all charges, had also asked for a CBI probe last month.
An elite special investigation team of the CBI which has been probing fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya and the AgustaWestland chopper deal will look into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The agency on Thursday took over the probe by the Bihar Police based on a complaint filed by his father that had named his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, also an actor, and five others.
Ms Chakraborty and the others have been charged with alleged abetment of suicide, criminal conspiracy, theft, cheating, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation.
Having investigated very few "abetment of suicide" cases in its history with hardly any convictions, the agency will probe the actor's death with a special emphasis on a possible financial crime with criminal motives, CBI sources said.
The case is the first one to be registered by the special investigation team of the CBI, which usually looks into corruption scandals, in the last two years. Set up in 2016, the team was the brainchild of then CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana.
"Though this case has been entrusted with SIT which has been probing corruption and economic offences, investigating officer of this case Anil Yadav and supervising officers Ravi Gambhir and Nupur Prasad have expertise in cracking criminal cases," sources in the agency said.
Sushant Singh Rajput, a rising star in Hindi films, was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14. The Mumbai Police said it was suicide and has questioned over 50 people on allegations that the actor was suffering from depression and had felt sidelined because of cut-throat rivalries in the film industry.
The Bihar Police launched a parallel probe last week after the actor's father KK Singh filed a complaint against Sushant's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, accusing her of transferring money from his account, mentally harassing him and driving him to suicide. The complaint alleged that Rs 15 crore was missing from Sushant Singh's account.
The Mumbai police says it has found no evidence of any financial wrongdoing by Rhea Chakraborty.
On Wednesday, the Bihar Police's case was handed over to the CBI following a growing demand from politicians and the actor's family.
Rhea Chakraborty, who has denied all charges, had also asked for a CBI probe last month. Breaking her silence last week, the actor said tearfully in a video released by her lawyers: "Truth shall prevail."
At this point, three agencies - the Mumbai Police, the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI - have been tasked with investigating Sushant Singh Rajput's death and events leading up to it.
The Enforcement Directorate, which investigates financial crimes, had filed a separate money laundering case last week over "suspicious transactions" in connection with the death of the Bollywood actor based on the complaint filed with the Bihar Police. The agency has summoned Ms Chakraborty on Friday to take her statement.
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