CBI to investigate death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput: prosecutor

MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Central Bureau of Investigation will investigate the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, its senior prosecutor said on Wednesday, the latest twist in a grim case that has been reported as suicide and has dominated Indian social media for over a year. month.

Rajput, 34, was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14 in what police called “accidental death”. Local media said he was found hanging from the ceiling and described his death as suicide.

Rajput’s death has sparked heated debate on prime-time news channels and conspiracy theories on social media.

His family had also called for a federal investigation into the factors that led to his death, and a standoff between two state governments over the matter has further muddied the waters.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday that the federal government had approved a request by the government of Bihar, Rajput’s home state, to refer the investigation to the federal investigative agency ( CBI).

The government of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, had refused to transfer the case to the CBI by local police, saying this did not warrant a federal investigation.

Bihar, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party shares power with an ally, is expected to go to the polls later this year, while Maharashtra, India’s richest state, is ruled by a coalition of three opposition parties.

Rajput, a TV actor from a middle-class family, was a rare foreigner who found success in Bollywood, an industry known to be insular and long dominated by multiple families.

In the days following his death, several industry insiders, including actress Kangana Ranaut, accused Bollywood of pushing Rajput to the brink of emotion by denying him acting opportunities.