Dr Sudhir Gupta, chairman of the AIIMS Forensic Board, appointed to go into the autopsy report of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput, appears to have breached the established protocol by prematurely declaring that the actor had committed suicide, and homicide was completely ruled out. As per established practice, the findings of the Board should have been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency which is probing the unnatural death, and whose officers had sought the assistance of the AIIMS authorities. The CBI had only a few days ago, issued an unusual statement where it had stated that the case was wide open, and all angles were being thoroughly gone into.
The announcement regarding whether it was a case of murder or suicide should have been left to the officers of the CBI. However, it appears, Dr Gupta was eager to seek some publicity for himself and thus indulged in a conduct unbecoming of someone who holds such an important position. It is not known as yet whether other members of the board concurred with his desire to rush to the press, or would have been happier if the matter would have been handled by the detectives associated with the case. The AIIMS doctors had not conducted the postmortem, and therefore were involved in the case to examine the findings of forensic specialists of the Cooper hospital, who had initially performed the autopsy. Thus, their opinion was based on the findings of another team, and pertained to provide professional insight to the CBI on whether things had been done in a proper manner, or had there been some lapses on the part of the Cooper hospital authorities.
A few days ago, a senior advocate had stated on a TV channel that an AIIMS doctor had informed him after looking at some pictures of Sushant’s body that he had been strangled, thereby implying it was murder. This kind of irresponsible behaviour by doctors is unacceptable and condemnable. Although three and a half months have passed since the Bollywood star died, none of the investigating agencies, including the CBI, have been able to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. This has led to unnecessary speculations and multiple conspiracy theories. The CBI is widely regarded as the most credible agency in the country but its own track record in many other matters has been extremely dismal. The agency’s image suffered a blow when some time ago, two of its topmost officers were involved in a public spat, forcing the government to remove both of them from their position. Prior to that the CBI director was described as a “Caged Parrot” by the apex court.
In the latest instance, the CBI must reach to the bottom of the matter and if it indeed was a suicide, it should not shy away from saying so. Sushant’s family wants closure as does his live-in partner, Rhea Chakraborty, who has been singled out and vilified. In the interest of justice, the truth should be brought to fore.