In a significant development, the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) concluded that Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide – dismissing theories of strangulation and poisoning.
AIIMS handed over its findings to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The apex investigation over abetment to suicide still continues.
“There were no marks of struggle/scuffle on the body and clothes of the deceased," Dr Sudhir Gupta, Chairman of AIIMS Forensic Medical Board was quoted.
The AIIMS Forensic Medical Board was formed in the death case of Sushant Singh Rajput after CBI took over the probe
"The presence of any seductive material was not detected by the Forensic Science Laboratory in Mumbai and the AIIMS toxicology lab. The complete examination of the ligature mark over the neck was consistent with hanging," he added.
Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead on June 14, in his duplex flat in the Mont Blanc building at Carter Road in Bandra.
The Dr R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital in Vile Parle where the autopsy was conducted had found "asphyxia due to hanging" as the cause of death.
The Bandra police station in Mumbai registered an accidental death report (ADR) and had recorded 56 statements during the investigation under Section 174 of the CrPC.
However, the investigations were handed over to the CBI following an order of the Supreme Court based on the plea of the Bihar government which has registered an FIR in Patna against Sushant Singh Rajput’s live-in partner Rhea Chakraborty and others for abetment to suicide and swindling off the actor’s money.
Sushant’s father Krishna Kishore Singh has lodged the FIR and later also asked the murder charge to be probed.
The statement of Dr Gupta comes as a major relief to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which was in the firing line of the BJP and political parties from Bihar.
As soon as the statement of Dr Gupta came, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that he would not like to comment. “Nothing official has come to -…when it comes, I will surely say on this,” he said.
Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader, went on to add that the CBI report should come now. “Whether it is suicide or murder, people must know,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sushant’s live-in partner Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde too stated that the CBI report must be tabled.
"I have seen the statement of the doctors from AIIMS concerning the Sushant Singh Rajput case. The official papers and report are only with AIIMS and CBI which will be submitted in court once investigations are over. We await the official version of CBI,” Maneshinde said.
"We on behalf of Rhea Chakraborty have always said that truth cannot be changed under any circumstances. The speculations against Rhea in some quarters of the media are motivated and mischievous. We remain committed to truth alone," he added.
The Congress also mounted an attack on the BJP-led Centre.
“After the official confirmation by AIIMS panel head Dr Sudhir Gupta that Sushant Singh Rajput committed suicide, it is proved that investigation by the Mumbai police was honest and forthright. It is also clear that it was a conspiracy of the Modi govt with help of their fake media allies, state Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.