India’s top probe agency will get a psychological autopsy done as part of their investigation into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, officials linked to the inquiry said on Tuesday.
A 10-member team from India’s top probe agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is in Mumbai to investigate the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput after the country’s top court ordered it to look into his death amid abetment to suicide allegations.
Sushant was found hanging from a ceiling fan inside his apartment in Mumbai on 14 June. Since the death of the actor, people from across the country, including politicians, have been demanding a thorough investigation into the death of the actor aged 34.
According to the investigating agency, despite Sushant’s post-mortem report clearly stating death due to suicide, many discrepancies are being found in the report following leading the agency to carry out a psychological autopsy.
In the US, the FBI routinely uses psychological autopsy to understand the behaviour of suicide bombers.
Speaking to Sputnik, a forensic expert said it is a tool to understand and reconstruct the mental state of the deceased and the circumstances that led to a person killing themselves.
“In Sushant’s case this exercise will involve a detailed study of every aspect of his life and a lot of vital aspects will be revealed which will help the team in further investigation,” said the forensic expert from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) who requested anonymity.
A senior official of the probe agency said the forensic team will obtain information about the actor’s behaviour patterns and even personal idiosyncrasies in order to rebuild a composite picture of his mental state in the days leading up to his death.
"The focus remains on the last days of the deceased's life to explain the death and whether it is a suicide or not. The most important aspect is to understand the mental health of a deceased before she or he commits suicide," the CBI official told Sputnik.
But in recent times, investigating officials have relied on psychological autopsies in two cases—the death of Indian politician Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar and the mass suicide of a family in New Delhi.
Last month, Sushant's father KK Singh filed a complaint with India's Bihar state police against Sushant's ex-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and several others accusing her of forcing Sushant to commit suicide and cheating on him.
The state chief of Bihar Nitish Kumar subsequently recommended a CBI investigation into the case which was accepted by the Central Government.
Rhea approached the country's Apex to transfer the case filed in Bihar to Mumbai police. However, the apex court has since asked the CBI to investigate.
