The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed closure reports in cases linked to the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, officials aware of the matter said on Saturday, ruling out “foul play” in a death that had captivated the country close to five years ago.
The investigation, in what became one of India’s most polarising cases, has cleared actor Rhea Chakraborty and her family members of all allegations. Rajput’s family had accused Chakraborty of abetting his suicide and embezzling funds worth ₹15 crore, charges that fuelled intense media scrutiny and public outrage.
“After extensive investigation involving forensic evidence from various locations, technical data from the US, multiple medical opinions, and questioning of all relevant individuals, we found no evidence of foul play,” said a senior CBI officer who requested anonymity.
Singh, then 34 years old, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14, 2020.
Rajput’s death sparked a national conversation about mental health stigma while exposing deep divisions, marked also by rapidly spreading conspiracy theories across social platforms. In some circles, Chakraborty and the alleged “nepotism culture” in Bollywood were blamed for driving the actor to take his life.
“We are grateful to the CBI for having thoroughly investigated the case. The amount of false narratives was uncalled for. Innocent people were hounded and paraded before the media and investigative authorities,” said Chakraborty’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde.
HT reached out to Rajput’s family counsel, senior advocate Vikas Singh, for comment but received no immediate response.
The federal agency investigated two separate cases – one filed by Rajput’s father KK Singh with Bihar police, and another filed by Chakraborty against the late actor’s sister Priyanka Singh for allegedly procuring psychiatric drugs without proper consultation. “There is no evidence of any conspiracy in either case,” the CBI officer stated.
The closure report in the first case was filed in a special Patna court and the second in a special Mumbai court. The courts will now decide whether to accept the report or order further investigation.
Rajput’s post-mortem examination report stated he died of asphyxiation, and an AIIMS panel formed to re-evaluate the report ruled out murder in 2020, saying that it was a “case of hanging and death by suicide.”
In 2021, CBI sent a formal request to California-headquartered Google and Facebook, asking them to share details of all deleted chats, emails or posts of the actor so that it could analyse the content and understand the background to the events leading to the day of his death. However, nothing suspicious was found in the replies received by the agency.
The case had taken on political dimensions, particularly in Rajput’s home state of Bihar, and expanded to include allegations of drug trafficking within the film industry. Chakraborty was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on drug-related charges but was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in October 2020. The court negated allegations levelled by the agency that Chakraborty was “part of a drug syndicate” and was “harbouring” or “financing” such activities.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab said CBI report showed that BJP leaders used Rajput’s case for political benefits. “Since beginning it was clear that there was nothing wrong in Sushant Singh death case investigations. BJP leaders in Maharashtra made false allegations over the case to malign then Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government,” he said.
BJP leader Ram Kadam rejected the charge and blamed lapses in the initial investigation for the closure report. “The case was handed over to the central agency very late. By then, the rented house of the actor was handed over back to the landlord, the house was repainted and furniture was shifted. All the crucial evidence, including CCTV footage, were displaced by the then state government, “he said.
With inputs from Abhishek Sharan