Central agency will reconstruct incident, examine accused
Abhishek Sharan (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 21, 2020)

A CBI team from Delhi, along with experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory of India (CFSL), reached Mumbai on Thursday evening to start its probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The team is likely to undertake a reconstruction of the incident at the late actor’s Bandra flat, where his body was found hanging on June 14.

Sources said the agency will examine case records and evidence, including autopsy report, case diary, panchnama and statements of 56 people recorded earlier by the Mumbai police. The agency may meet Mumbai police’s team conducting the accidental death probe.

The agency’s team is also likely to question the accused in the case, including Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, and witnesses.

The agency will question the four people who had found Rajput’s body about what had transpired in the flat on the day of the incident and hours/ days before that to understand the circumstances related to the suicide and for its reconstruction, sources said.

The CFSL team will accompany the CBI team to Rajput’s Bandra flat to trace/gather forensic evidence, the sources said. The CBI team is led by Superintendent of Police (SP), Nupur Prasad, and around a dozen CFSL officials.


ED records Rumy Jafry’s statement
The ED on Thursday recorded the statement of filmmaker Rumy Jafry in connection with its money laundering probe into the case. The director’s statement was recorded in relation to his reported plans of directing a movie with the late actor and the finances involved in this upcoming project.
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Officers of the central agency will do a detailed enactment of Sushant Singh Rajput's last moments, with all the witnesses present in the house
Faizan Khan (MID-DAY; August 21, 2020)

A day after the Supreme Court paved the way for a CBI probe in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, the 16-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the central agency landed in Mumbai to take over the probe. Sources said CBI officers will visit Mont Blanc building where the actor allegedly committed suicide and recreate the incident in the presence of witnesses.

Deputy Inspector General of CBI's Anti-Corruption Wing in Mumbai, Suvez Haque has been appointed as the nodal officer to coordinate with the city police. Sources said that he has already contacted the Mumbai police for all the case files and documents, which will be submitted to the SIT. The SIT will be led by senior IPS officer Manoj Shashidhar and will include DIG Gagandeep Gambhir, SP Nupur Prasad and DSP Anil Kumar Yadav. Meanwhile, sources said that the state government was unlikely to challenge the SC verdict.

Divided Into Three Teams
The sources further said that the CBI would start investigating the matter from the beginning and in order to recreate the incident, they will use a dummy of Sushant's height and weight. The witnesses would be questioned individually and if any contradictory statements come to the fore, they would be interrogated face to face.

The SIT has been divided into three teams to speed up the investigation. According to sources, one team will record the statements of witnesses and question actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family, the second team will look into the forensic evidence and meet the doctors who have conducted the post mortem, and the third team will look into the investigation carried out by the Mumbai police. The CBI will also try to ascertain whether the professional rivalry angle is relevant.

"Our investigation will not be limited to the abetment of suicide case. We will probe all possible angles. We cannot comment more as we are yet to see the case file," a CBI officer said.

So far the city police have recorded the statements of 56 people and haven't found any foul play.

'Thoroughly Investigated'
"The matter has been thoroughly investigated. Even the doctors' statements have been recorded. The postmortem report confirmed death due to asphyxia. The toxicology report and other forensic reports also ruled out foul play," said a Mumbai police officer. The angles from which the city police investigated the matter include Sushant's depression, his recent relationships, professional rivalry, financial distress and negative media reports.

The investigation team from Bandra police recorded the statements of the actor's family members, his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and others who were close to him. As far as the professional rivalry angle is concerned, the cops recorded the statements of Aditya Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and others. They also recorded the statements of several journalists who have written negative articles on the actor. "Our investigation is still on and if we reach any logical conclusion, we will act accordingly. If we find any evidence regarding crime committed, then we will register an FIR and transfer the case to CBI as per the apex court's order," the officer added.

Mumbai Police officials said that all files related to Disha Salian's death case were available with them on record
Sahil Joshi (INDIA TODAY; August 2, 2020)

The Mumbai Police officials on Sunday (August 2) denied reports that files relating to Sushant Singh Rajput's ex-manager, Disha Salian, had been deleted. Officials of the Malvani Police Statino said that no files related to Disha Salian's case have been deleted and that they have everything on record. All documents too, are available with them.

"The case is under investigations. Several statements are taken and family has given no complaint against anyone," said the officials.

The Bihar Police team on Saturday (August 1) evening reached the Malwani Police Station in Mumbai, seeking details about Sushant Singh Rajput's ex-manager, Disha Salian's death. However, it was reported earlier that the Bihar Police was told that folder having details of Disha's case has been "deleted by accident" and cannot be retrieved.

The Bihar Police also went to Disha Salian's house to record statements of the late celebrity manager's family. However, there was nobody at the residence.

Disha Salian died on June 8 after falling off the 14th floor of a building in Malad. Earlier, it was suspected to be a suicide but later police said that it could have been an accidental death.

Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide on the morning of June 14. Meanwhile, Patna SP Vinay Tewari has reached Mumbai to lead the investigation in the case.

Yesterday, director Rumy Jafry was questioned by the Bihar Police in connection with Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; July 25, 2020)

Writer-director Rumy Jafry was among those who were summoned by the Mumbai Police for questioning in the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case. The filmmaker, who was in talks with Sushant and Rhea Chakraborty to star together in a romcom, recorded his statement at Bandra Police Station on Thursday.

Rumy told us, “I went there at 3 pm and left at 7 pm. It took a long time because they questioned me about everything in detail.” He added, “From the romcom I was planning with Sushant to his mental health, the police questioned me about everything. I had all details and dates in place about the first time that I met Sushant, when and where we had the narration of the script and more such information. They asked me everything — how the project was planned, who was producing it, how many times we met and discussed the project and whether the meetings happened at my home or at Sushant’s place. I was also asked about his mental health. I spoke truthfully about whatever I knew. I expected I’d be called anytime as I was doing a film with him. Agar sab theek hota toh yeh film floor pe hoti. I am happy that the police is doing a thorough investigation.”

Soon after Sushant’s death, Rumy had told us, “Sushant was gung-ho about the project. He was excited and kept telling me to begin workshops and rehearsals soon.”

Rumy, who has directed films such as Gali Gali Chor Hai and God Tussi Great Ho, added that he was aware that Sushant was seeking help for depression. He had said, “Yes, he did tell me about it. And that’s why, while talking to him, whenever I felt he was feeling low, I’d invite him to my place or I’d go over to his. He was an intelligent man. Main unki kaafi taareef karta tha, unke kaam ko leke. I’d never ask him what was making him depressed, fearing that he might sink in deeper thinking and talking about it.”

Writer-director Rumy Jafry reveals he was to start a film with the duo in May but the pandemic delayed plans
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 16, 2020)

On Sunday, around noon, Sushant Singh Rajput died by alleged suicide, abruptly ending a 10-film career and leaving behind a legacy of sterling performances. He will last be seen on screen in casting director Mukesh Chhabra’s directorial debut, Dil Bechara, the official Hindi adaptation of John Green’s novel, The Fault In Our Stars, opposite debutante Sanjana Sanghi. The film rolled in Jamshedpur in July 2018 and wrapped up in January 2019 in Paris, where they shot at the Eiffel Tower with Saif Ali Khan joining the film’s leads for an interesting cameo.

Mirror has now learnt that the 34-year-old actor was gearing up to kickstart a new film, a rom-com directed by Rumy Jafry, also featuring rumoured girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty. “The script was locked and we were to begin shooting in May. The Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown delayed things,” shares Rumy, who is traumatised by the actor’s sudden demise. “I lost Irrfan Khan, then Rishi Kapoor and Wajid, and now Sushant. I am so disturbed, my father has asked me to return home to Bhopal.”

The director goes ahead to inform that the film would have started in Mumbai, moved to London, followed by an outdoor schedule in Punjab. The shoot was spread over six months and the yet-untitled film was to wrap up in November. “A rom-com, it was to explore Sushant’s dancing skills. He was a fantastic dancer and my film would have showcased him in a different light. He loved Shah Rukh Khan’s acting and Govinda’s dance and that’s why I had a full-fledged dance number with Govinda-style moves planned for our mahurat,” says Rumy, remembering SSR’s spot-on mimicry of his favourite actor, SRK.

Rumy had been in constant touch with Sushant throughout the lockdown. Describing him as a “simple and innocent boy” he recalls how the actor would hang out at his place for hours. “He didn’t have too many friends in the industry but was very passionate about his work. He kept reading my script even during the lockdown and was keen on a joint narration. He was looking forward to starting work on the film soon and every time the lockdown was extended, he would get upset because he wanted to get back to work and rehearse,” recounts Rumy, adding that Sushant had loved his wife’s cooking and also missed their meals together. “I messaged him around four to five days ago, when I learnt that his former manager Disha (Salian) had passed away. I asked him to ‘take care’ and he replied with four hearts and ‘love you sir’, promising to catch up soon.”

Following the success of the Nitesh Tiwari-directed campus drama Chhichhore, a number of other producers and directors were looking forward to collaborating with Sushant. “The industry knew that I was working with Sushant and two big producers sought my help to get in touch with him. I spoke to Sushant, but he wasn’t too keen on meeting them. His response was simple, ‘Sir, picture hi nahin karni hai abhi toh milkar kya karoonga. Jab agli picture commit karni hogi, tab mil loonga.’”

Now that the actor is no more, will he make the film with someone else? “I may never make it; it was written keeping Sushant in mind,” Rumy sighs.