The panel of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), who were to re-evaluate Sushant Singh Rajput’s post-mortem and viscera reports based on the 20% viscera sample available with them, submitted their findings to the Central Board of Investigation (CBI) on Monday, 28 September.
The AIIMS panel, headed by Dr Sudhir Gupta, was constituted on the request of the CBI in August to study Sushant’s autopsy and viscera reports. The findings made by the team have not been made public yet.
“No Traces of Organic Poison” Says an Unofficial Report:
The AIIMS forensic report has found no traces of organic poison in Sushant Singh Rajput’s body, according to news reports on Times Now and India Today. This finding has not been made official by the panel or the CBI yet and has only been reported by the news channels by attributing it to “sources”.
What’s Official So Far About the AIIMS Findings:
The only statement given out by Dr Sudhir Gupta in the matter is that, “AIIMS & CBI are in agreement on the Sushant Singh Rajput death case but more deliberations are needed. There is a need to look into some legal aspects for a logical legal conclusion.”
SSR Family Lawyer’s Claim of 200% Strangulation Incorrect:
On 25 September, Sushant Singh Rajput's family lawyer Vikas Singh Singh had claimed that as per the findings of AIIMS doctors, the cause of Sushant's death was "200% strangulation and not suicide". According to a report, Singh claimed that a doctor who is part of the AIIMS team had told him long back that the photos sent by Singh indicate 200% death by strangulation and not suicide. However, Dr Sudhir Gupta, has termed these claims by Singh as “incorrect”.
Dr Sudhir Gupta in an interview to India Today reacted to advocate Vikas Singh’s claims and said, "The investigation is still going on. What he is saying is not correct. We can’t conclude simply on murder or suicide based on just ligature marks and scene of crime. Need more investigation which is still going on and not concluded."
Rhea Chakraborty’s Lawyer Demands New Medical Board:
In response to Sushant’s family lawyer’s claims, Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde released a statement asking for a new medical board to constituted to look into the case. His statement said,”The Disclosure of a 200 % strangulation conclusion by an AIIMS doctor in the team headed by Dr Gupta in the SSR case, on the basis of photographs, is a dangerous trend. To keep the investigations impartial and free from inference, the CBI must constitute a new medical board. The agencies are being pressurised to reach a pre-determined result for obvious reasons on the eve of Bihar Elections. We have seen the VRS of DG Pandey unfolding a few days back. There should not be a repetition of such steps.”
It is said that the findings of the AIIMS panel will be a deciding factor in which direction the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by the CBI will now go in.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)