Hours after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) closed the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s alleged suicide on Saturday, ruling out any foul play and giving a clean chit to his (then) girlfriend actor Rhea Chakraborty, her lawyer Satish Maneshinde issued a statement, welcoming the move.

“We are grateful to the CBI for having thoroughly investigated the case and closed it,” PTI quoted the senior advocate. “Innocent people were hounded and paraded before the media and investigative authorities. Rhea had to undergo untold miseries and was behind bars for 27 days before being released on bail,” he added.

In a cryptic reaction, Rhea’s brother Showik Chakraborty shared an old video of her and him on Instagram Stories, with the caption “Satyameva Jayate” and a folded hands emoji. In September 2020, the siblings were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in connection with a drug-related case that was allegedly linked to Sushant’s death.

June 14, 2020: Sushant was found hanging in his Bandra (Mumbai) residence. The Mumbai Police called it a case of suspected suicide. The death triggered many conspiracy theories.

July 25, 2020: Sushant’s father K K Singh filed a case with the Patna Police, accusing six people, including Rhea and her family, of abetment to suicide and siphoning off Rs. 15 crore from his son’s bank accounts.

August 19, 2020: The Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe into the case.

September 7, 2020: Rhea filed a complaint in Bandra, accusing Sushant’s sisters of giving him banned medicines using a fake prescription by a doctor from Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

The CBI’s closure report, filed after nearly five years of the 34-year-old’s death, has ruled out any foul play. “After an extensive investigation that involved gathering forensic evidence from various locations, technical evidence from the US, multiple medical opinions and questioning of all the persons connected, we have not found any foul play in the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. A closure report was filed in two related cases before a special court in Mumbai,” a senior official said. The courts will now decide whether to accept the report or order further investigation, officials added.

In October 2020, forensic specialists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had concluded that Sushant’s death was a case of suicide, ruling out foul play.