Actor goes to cops again over ‘aggressive media’ behaviour
Vijay V Singh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 1, 2020)

Mumbai: CBI questioned actor Rhea Chakraborty for the fourth consecutive day on Monday along with her brother Showik and others in the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s alleged suicide. The CBI also questioned the late actor’s business manager Shruti Modi for the first time.

In another major development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing a money laundering angle in the Rajput case, questioned businessman Kunal Jani. Jani runs Bastian Hospitality in which Ranjit Singh Bindra (an accused in the Iqbal Mirchi money laundering case) and Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra, were partners. The ED also questioned Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya. Sources said during their questioning, Jani and Arya denied any “suspicious transaction” with Rhea.

It was reported that CBI would be recording the statement of Rajput’s sister Mitu Singh, but the central agency refused to confirm it. Rhea had earlier in an interview to a TV channel said she had left Rajput’s house on June 8 as Mitu was coming to stay with him. Rhea had said since Mitu stayed with him in the days preceding his death on June 14, she could throw more light on his mental state then.

The advocates of Rhea and Shruti told the media separately that Rajput’s family was aware of his mental condition and drug use.

The Rajput family has alleged Rhea used to control the actor along with her brother, their parents, Shruti and house manager Samuel Miranda. They are all accused in the case. The CBI has also questioned Rajput’s staffers —Neeraj Singh, Deepesh Sawant and Keshav Bachner —as well as his friend Siddharth Pithani. All four were present in the Bandra apartment when the actor was found dead.

Shruti’s advocate Ashok Saraogi has said she was just an employee and she later quit. Sarogi said, “Sushant’s father once called and asked Shruti to connect him with his son. But Sushant instructed Shruti not to entertain his father’s call. In another instance, one of Sushant’s sisters had called asking about his bank account.”

The BMC, meanwhile, has told the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission that it had not given permission for Rhea’s purported “visit” to the morgue where Rajput’s body was kept.
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Actor’s former staff members Samuel Miranda and Shruti Modi were among those questioned at the CBI’s camp office at DRDO Guesthouse
Abhishek Sharan (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 1, 2020)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday again questioned actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and five others in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

The agency is investigating whether there was any foul play or abetment leading to the actor’s death. The probe is examining whether the late actor was unwell since the first week of June and had sought the advice, personally or via people close to him, of doctors.

It was the fourth consecutive day the agency had grilled Chakraborty and others. Apart from Chakraborty and her brother, Rajput’s former house manager Samuel Miranda and former manager Shruti Modi were questioned at the CBI’s camp office at DRDO Guesthouse, Santacruz (East), over Rajput’s father’s allegations that there was a conspiracy to control the life and finances of the late actor. According to the allegations, as part of attempts to control his life and create a distance between Rajput and his family, the actor was given a phone with a separate SIM card.

According to sources, the agency has learned that as he was not keeping well, Rajput and those close to him had consulted doctors. One of the doctors had allegedly asked him as to why he had stopped taking medicines prescribed to him. The agency is looking into claims that early in June, Rajput was keeping unwell and had curtailed his interactions with his flatmates.

The CBI is looking into whether Rajput went to Chandigarh to meet his sister’s family in January but fell sick on the way and thereafter returned to Mumbai after a few days. The agency is examining whether during the Chandigarh trip, the Rajput family had been apprised about his treatment, the sources said.

Chakraborty was again asked about Rajput’s family’s allegations, including whether she and Rajput had differences over his decision to shift to Coorg in Karnataka to do organic farming, which led to her departure from his flat on June 8, and whether she subsequently blocked his phone number.

This was one of the allegations of Rajput’s father, K K Singh, as per the July 25 FIR registered by Patna police. Chakraborty was also asked if she had told the Rajput family about the fact that he was under treatment for mental-health related issues, the sources said.

Chakraborty and others have denied any wrongdoing, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the ED on Monday questioned a Goa-based hotelier, Gaurav Arya, over a communication with Rhea Chakraborty allegedly linked to narcotic substances. Arya denied all allegations.
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Cooper denies giving Rhea access to mortuary

Yogesh Naik (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 1, 2020)

The management of Cooper Hospital has denied giving Rhea Chakraborty access to the room where Sushant Singh Rajput’s post-mortem was done. The state Human Rights Commission had issued a suo motu notice to the hospital management and Mumbai police after video clips of Chakraborty getting access to the post-mortem room/mortuary emerged.

A senior officer of the commission said: “We were going through clips of Rhea Chakraborty visiting the mortuary of Cooper. We asked the registrar of the legal wing to check the provisions. They should not have been given permission to visit the mortuary. We don’t how and under what circumstances permission was given. I have issued a showcause notice to the dean to explain how and under what rules permission was given to the lady and her family members.” Chakraborty visited the mortuary a day after Rajput’s death, on June 14. The actor was photographed leaving the morgue along with two/three people. Cooper Hospital Dean Dr Pinakin Gujjar refused to comment

Sources in Kalina forensic lab tell mid-day that 80 per cent of the visceral samples collected have been used for analysis in the original probe, leaving only 20 per cent for the central agency
Vinod Kumar Menon (MID-DAY; August 24, 2020)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has just taken up the Sushant Singh Rajput case, has its task cut out for it with almost 80 per cent of the viscera (samples of organs) already having been utilised for analysis by the state's Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina. The CBI may need to conduct its own analysis of the viscera samples to rule out intoxication or poisoning that can point to foul play.

The FSL Kalina had submitted a negative report after its analysis.

According to forensic sources, police had submitted four containers containing the viscera and blood sample after Sushant's autopsy.

"Nearly 80 per cent of the organ samples have been used for analysis. The blood was analysed for DNA, which is preserved. Nothing suspicious was found. The remaining samples have been sealed and preserved at FSL, Kalina. They can be used for a second analysis in case of disputes," said a forensic expert.

But is that much viscera enough for an analysis? "The CBI may want to do specific reanalyses, for which the sample may be sufficient. However, repeat tests after that might be a concern."

Highly placed sources investigating the case said, "The FSL scientist from Kalina who had visited the crime scene for analysis, found a cigarette butt and medicine strip, which were also analysed as non-biological samples along with a glass, but nothing incriminating was found."

"There is no scope for further crime scene analysis as it has not been preserved by local police, so subsequent missing of vital clues cannot be ruled out. With Sushant's body cremated, the CBI will have to rely on the post-mortem notes and the video footage of the autopsy. This may not be sufficient to ascertain direct foul play as no nail clippings, or finger swab were preserved," the source said.

Legal View
Senior criminal lawyer Dinesh Tiwari said, "Taking on the case after two months since the incident only makes CBI's situation grimmer. Crime can be tried in court on the basis of direct and circumstantial evidence which need to be corroborated with scientific evidence. It seems the CBI will have a big challenge of extracting forensic evidence."

Tiwari added, "The CBI will have to depend either on circumstantial evidence which may not lead to a foolproof case or puncture holes into the shoddy investigation by Mumbai police by submitting an inconclusive report in court."

FSL Scientist's Statement
CBI officials have also contacted FSL, Kalina to record the statement of a forensic scientist attached to its Physics department. Sources said that the analyst would be able to tell if any fibres from the cloth used for hanging got stuck on the neck and if the cloth was strong enough to bear Sushant's weight. Sources said that the FSL has asked the CBI to reach out through official channels.

Meanwhile, the Medico Legal Association of Maharashtra refuted reports that five forensic surgeons who conducted the analysis were questioned by CBI. Dr Shailesh Mohite, the Association's president, said, "The reports are untrue. The forensic surgeons approached us and were concerned about being trolled online. We would appreciate factual reporting in such sensitive cases," Mohite said.

Professor Dr Rajesh Dhere, the Association's secretary, "If any submission is made by forensic surgeons attached to Cooper with regard to Sushant's autopsy, we will look into it."

A CBI officer of the rank of sub-inspector did visit Cooper hospital on Saturday and submitted a letter requesting the CCTV footage of the casualty ward, the Cooper Post Mortem Centre and relevant documents.

An insider said, "Cooper hospital's dean may be able to furnish all details except the CCTV footage of the post mortem centre as it comes under Police Surgeon Dr S M Patil."

Dr Patil was unavailable for comment due to personal reasons. Dr Pinakin Gujjar, dean of HBT Medical College and Dr R N Cooper hospital, said, "I cannot comment at this stage as a CBI probe is on."

Expert Speak
Solicitor Stuti Galiya said, "In any criminal investigation, a crime scene provides actual, direct and physical evidence. This evidence virtually determines the fate of the case. In the two months since the incident, it is likely that most of the direct and physical evidence may be lost or tampered with. The court would have to rely heavily on circumstantial evidence. This would leave a lot of room for interpretations, arguments and questions on authenticity and genuineness of the evidence," said Galiya.

"It is possible that either an innocent person will get dragged in the case or the real culprit will get acquitted," Galiya concluded.


CBI officers at Bandra police station. Pic/Sameer Markande

Their phones and Cooper hospital’s landline ring constantly; screenshots of FB account and LinkedIn profile posted online
Alka Dhupkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 19, 2020)

Five doctors of Cooper hospital who had signed off on actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s post-mortem examination report have been doxxed and are being relentlessly harassed.

The targeted malicious campaign—which put out the doctors’ names with their phone numbers with a copy of the autopsy report took off online three days ago with the allegation that they had taken a bribe to declare that the actor had died by suicide. Within hours, not only was this claim widely shared along with a screenshot of the Facebook account of one of the doctors and the LinkedIn profile of another, but many people also began making abusive calls to them. Some even tracked down the doctors’ alternative contact numbers by pretending to be patients in distress, as well as flooded the hospital’s landline with calls. Many of these call recordings have been posted online, prompting other harassers to do the same.

From demanding that the doctors’ licences be cancelled and be booked for murder to calling for the hospital’s closure, the harassers haven’t spared anyone. They have even published the contact numbers and work profiles of doctors with similar names.

Dr Pinakin Gujjar, dean of Cooper hospital, confirmed that the five doctors are being abused online as well as on calls, but refused to divulge more details, saying he, too, has been subjected to similar harassment.

A colleague of the five doctors said the trolls stepped up the attack after an unverified claim began doing the rounds that the doctors had gone into hiding.

Hospital authorities said the doctors are petrified and reluctant to file a police complaint, fearing that they could be subjected to further harassment. The medical fraternity has offered to provide them with legal guidance should they be willing to file a complaint with the police or any other authority. At a meeting with an office-bearer of the Medico-Legal Association of Maharashtra on Monday, one of the targeted doctors also expressed concern for the safety of his family member, who is also featured on the Facebook profile photograph being circulated. “He refused to file a complaint even on Tuesday. We understand their reservation; these are young doctors,” said a senior forensic science expert.

Condemning the attacks, Dr Shailesh Mohite, president of the Medico-legal Association of Maharashtra, said those who are objecting to the manner in which the post-mortem examination was conducted should seek legal recourse, instead of running a witch-hunt.

Another doctor from Cooper hospital said questioning the credentials of the forensic experts and mounting a hate campaign against them is a tactic to intimidate the medical fraternity. “We hope the Mumbai police will take note of this.”

In its post-mortem examination report, conducted hours after Rajput’s body was found in his Bandra apartment on June 14, Cooper hospital had said the actor had died of “asphyxia due to hanging”. Rajput’s family has questioned why the time of death, which is usually mentioned in an autopsy report, is missing from it. Last month, the Forensic Science Laboratory in Kalina ruled out homicide, and said that there was no trace of any harmful or toxic chemicals and/or drugs in Rajput’s viscera samples.