Published 20:01 IST, October 1st 2020
CBI's Sushant probe 'Phase 2' to begin: Siddharth Pithani summoned again; may turn witness
Siddharth Pithani, a flatmate of Sushant Singh Rajput, has now been summoned again on Tuesday to record his statement, sources in the CBI has told Republic TV.
- India News
- 4 min read
In a big development, Siddharth Pithani, a flatmate of Sushant Singh Rajput, has now been summoned again on Tuesday to record his statement, sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told Republic TV. He could record a statement with the agency under Section 164 as a witness, and was beholden to the entire goings-on at SSR's home in the week before he died. Pithani, who had been questioned by the CBI multiple times, might have already reached Delhi for the proceedings, sources had told Republic earlier in the day.
Pithani is believed to have been placed under the CBI's radar and is being monitored by the authorities. He had claimed to have been among the group of people in the house in Mumbai's Bandra when the door to Sushant Singh Rajput's room had been forced open to reveal that he had died, allegedly due to hanging. However, that version was long before Pithani was grilled by the CBI and allegedly divulged details of the arrival of ‘outsiders’ at the residence on June 13 amid big question marks over what exactly transpired.
The development came amid reports that the CBI could re-examine suspects like Pithani including producer Sandip Ssingh after the AIIMS medico-legal report was handed to it.
Pithani in his statement to the CBI had also allegedly claimed that Sushant had fainted upon hearing the news of Disha Salian’s death, a week before his own. After gaining consciousness, he stated ‘I will be killed’ and sought protection. With live-in-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty also leaving the house with Sushant’s laptop and other devices, SSR had been worried, Pithani told in his statement to CBI, as per sources. BJP MLA Nitesh Rane has claimed a deep link between the death of Disha and Sushant and claimed that Disha's fiance Rohan Rai who is conspicuous by his absence holds the key to revealing the entire sequence of events.
The other people in the house on June 14 were SSR's staff Dipesh Sawant and cook Neeraj Singh. The CBI had recreated the scene from the day along with these two and Pithani and questioned them multiple times. Sources have also told Republic that Neeraj Singh may turn witness. He is also in Delhi.
Dipesh, meanwhile, has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau, along with Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik, and another Sushant Singh Rajput staff Samuel Miranda for their alleged involvement in a drug cartel. Republic TV has recently dialled Neeraj in Delhi, and as per sources, he has been employed by an actor who is close to Rhea.
Meanwhile, a team of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has submitted its forensic report of the Sushant case to the CBI. As per sources, the team has not ruled out the homicide angle. The development had come in the wake of the CBI releasing a statement, amid impatience from a section of ‘SSRians’ about 'justice', that a 'systematic' investigation was being done and that no angles had been ruled out. AIIMS is likely to issue a statement on its report on Saturday.
Did Rhea meet Sushant on June 13?
In perhaps the biggest development yet in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, a BJP leader from Mumbai has claimed that the late actor met Rhea Chakraborty on June 13. BJP Mumbai Secretary Advocate Vivekanand Gupta has said that he is also willing to get in touch with the CBI which is probing the case.
The BJP leader has said that he has information about the alleged Sushant-Rhea meeting which took place on the 13th. He said that some eyewitness told him they saw both Sushant and Rhea at 3 am at a location and then the late actor dropped her home. Vivekanand Gupta has also said that he is ready to depose before the central investigating agency. His claim has now been corroborated by a Karni Sena Surjeet Singh Rathore citing another eyewitness named Suraj Singh who was present the day after Sushant's death at the mortuary where they both ran into Rhea Chakraborty and Sandip Ssingh.
Updated 20:01 IST, October 1st 2020