Mumbai, Aug 6: Taking over the case of the controversial death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the CBI on Thursday registered a case naming six persons, including his actress-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family members.
Besides Rhea, others named in the FIR are her family members Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandya Chakraborty and Showik Chakraborty as well as his house manager Samuel Miranda and the actress' manager and publicist Shruti Modi.
The registration of the case came a day after the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it has asked the CBI to take over the case following a reference from the Bihar government.
The entry of the CBI will not be to the liking of Maharashtra government, as it has already raised objection to the move, saying Bihar does not have any jurisdiction for a probe, as the incident happened in Mumbai.
The CBI has invoked charges related to criminal conspiracy, abetment of suicide, wrongful restrain, wrongful confinement, theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal intimidation against those named in the FIR.
The case will be probed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Superintendent of Police Nupur Prasad. DIG Gagandeep Gambhir and Joint Director Manoj Shashidhar will supervise the investigations.
The CBI FIR is based on a case registered by Patna Police on a complaint filed by the actor's father Krishna Kishore Singh, who accused Rhea and others of abetting Sushant's suicide and misappropriating his assets. The Patna Police had invoked sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, and abetment to suicide among others.
The 34-year-old actor hailing from Bihar, known for his stellar performance in Kai Poche and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story among others, died by suicide on June 14 in his apartment in Bandra in Mumbai on June 14. Mumbai Police has registered a case and had been investigating various angles when Sushant's father also registered a case in Patna against Rhea and others.
The case ran into controversy as Mumbai Police and the state government questioned the locus standi of their Patna counterparts with one of the senior Bihar Police officers who landed in Mumbai was sent to quarantine by state authorities.
Sushant's death had raised shackles with several actors and others questioning the nepotism in Bollywood after it emerged that he was under depression as he was not getting his due in the film industry.
It also assumed political colours with a section alleging that top Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's son Aditya Thackeray, also a Minister, has links to the incident. Aditya has denied any links.
BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, had demanded CBI inquiry in the case.
The Bihar government acted fast in referring the case to the CBI, as the state was going to Assembly elections later this year and there was anguish among people over the state.
So far, Mumbai Police have recorded statements of 56 people, including Rajput's sisters, Rhea, and others from the film industry, after registering an Accidental Death Report (ADR).
The Enforcement Directorate has earlier registered a money laundering case against Rhea and others on the basis of the FIR filed by Patna Police. The agency on Thursday quizzed Miranda while it summoned Rhea for questioning on Friday.
Earlier, Rhea had approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the case registered by Patna Police to Maharashtra. In her plea, she had said that she was in a live-in relationship with Sushant from a year up till June 8 when the petitioner had temporarily shifted to her own residence in Mumbai. She has been in deep trauma due the death of the actor and moreover getting rape and death threats.
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