Bihar CM Nitish Kumar hails Supreme Court order in Sushant Singh Rajput case

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday hailed the Supreme Court's judgement upholding transfer of an FIR lodged in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case at Patna to the CBI. "Nyay ki jeet hui hain (truth has triumphed)," Kumar said on the apex court's verdict.

Director-General of Police Gupteswar Pandey said that the Supreme Courts decision to transfer Rajput's death case to the CBI vindicates Bihar Polices stand that it was doing things in accordance with the law and Constitution.

His comments came after the apex court upheld the transfer to the CBI of an FIR, lodged at Patna against actress Rhea Chakraborty and others for allegedly abetting the suicide of actor.

It said that the Bihar government is competent to transfer the case to the central agency for investigation.

"I am happy with the apex courts order transferring the case to the CBI as it has further raised the hope for getting justice for Sushant Singh Rajput... The apex court order vindicates the Bihar Polices stand that it was doing things in accordance with the law and Constitution, Pandey told reporters soon after the order was delivered.

"With the verdict, the country came to know that the Bihar Police was doing nothing wrong in it. The fact of the matter is that it was carrying out its job with right intention to ensure justice for Sushant Singh Rajput, he said. There were, however, some people who were feeling "uneasy" as they might get exposed, he added.

"I can't tell you about the time-frame (on completing the probe). It may take one month, three months or more. This is a high-profile case, which the entire nation is closely watching, and a professional investigation agency is carrying out the probe on the directive of the apex court. I am quite confident that truth will come out finally, Pandey said.

Further, he said that it was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who supported a CBI probe into the actor's death case and this kept the hope alive for justice for Rajput.

"Rhea Chakraborty does not have 'aukaat' (stature) to comment on Bihar Chief Minister," he said.

Chakraborty had challenged the Bihar governments jurisdiction in the matter and sought transfer of the case from Patna to Mumbai. She had also alleged that the Bihar government's action was inspired by the upcoming state polls.

K K Singh, the actor's 74-year-old father, had lodged an FIR with Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna last month, nearly 40 days after his son was found hanging from the ceiling at his Bandra residence on June 14.

The Bihar Police had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), and sent its four police officers to Mumbai for carrying out the investigation.

Later, the Bihar government recommended the case for a CBI probe after the deceased's father gave his nod for the same.

Bihar's Advocate General Lalit Kishore said that the apex court order vindicated that the steps taken by the state government were as per the law and the constitution.

The Bihar governments action was well within the ambit of law, he added.

Maharashtra government and Mumbai police tried to create obstacles but justice prevailed, Kishore said.

State Water Resources Minister and senior JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, to whom Rajput's family had approached in the case and who had taken the matter to the CM, welcomed the order, stating that he is pleased as CBI will now get to the root of the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

"Justice is finally delivered! Grateful Hon Supreme Court On behalf of millions of truth seekers across the world who are devastated by suspect death of SushantSinghRajpoot, I express my gratitude to Hon CM Shri @NitishKumar for having recommended a #CBI enquiry," he tweeted.

Taking a swipe at the Mumbai police, he said, they did nothing in the name of investigation and only indulged in photo ops in its bid to cover-up the case. On Shiv Sena's allegation of scoring political points in the case in view of coming state polls, Jha, a close associate of Kumar, said the chief minister and the government "only came into the picture" after Rajput's father expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation.

"We came into the picture and played our role only after Sushant Singh Rajput's family filed an FIR. We acted in the honour of peoples sentiment that justice should be done in the matter," he told PTI.

Rajputs cousin and Bihar BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar Singh 'Bablu' hailed the verdict, saying that the family is very happy that justice will now be done in the case and truth will come out.