Maharashtra’s home minister, Anil Deshmukh, has said the investigation into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput by Mumbai Police is heading in the right direction as a turf war with the team from Patna Police over the case raged on.

“Mumbai Police investigation is progressing in the right direction in a professional manner,” Deshmukh was quoted as saying on Monday.

Before this, the minister had condemned the demand for a transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and also questioned the jurisdiction of the Bihar police.

“@MumbaiPolice already began investigating allegations about @itsSSR`s unfortunate alleged suicide. Even if Bihar Police registered an offence in Patna, under Ch. 12 & 13 of the #CrPC it has to be investigated,inquired & tried by police & courts within whose jurisdiction the offence is committed. I condemn the demand for the @itsSSR case to be handed to #CBI,” Deshmukh tweeted on Sunday.

“The case is now being politcised for political gains. #MaharashtraPolice is inquiring into the case professionally & are competent in digging out the truth, leaving no stone unturned!” he said.

“If Mumbai Police are already investigating the case, so anyone not related to Maharashtra government and not related to the case should not comment on it as Mumbai Police is capable of conducting the probe on its own,” Sanjay Raut, senior Shiv Sena leader, also said.

Deshmukh has rejected demands for a CBI probe into the actor’s death more than once, saying Mumbai Police are doing their job.

In his Sunday tweets, the minister was referring to the parallel investigation being conducted by a four-member team special investigation team (SIT) from Patna Police into the complaint lodged by Rajput’s father, KK Singh.

The actor’s father lodged a police complaint against actor Rhea Chakraborty and her family members and the department registered a first information report (FIR) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including abetment to suicide. 

Authorities in Bihar sent Vinay Tiwari, a superintendent of police, to Mumbai on Sunday, amid reports that the Mumbai Police were not cooperating with the team from Patna, which arrived in the Maharashtra capital on July 27.

Then Bihar’s director general of police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey alleged late on Sunday that Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who had taken a flight to Mumbai, was “forcibly quarantined” by civic authorities in the city.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar also said on Monday the “forcible quarantine” of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who was sent to Mumbai lead the probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, was not right and that the force is just doing their duty.

A minister from Bihar also questioned the civic body’s decision to quarantine Tiwari. 

“Four Bihar police officers are already in Mumbai. They also went there on a flight but were not quarantined. We sent an IPS officer to speed up the probe but he was quarantined when he started his investigation,” Sanjay Jha said.

On its part, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a clarification on Monday and said that they have instructed Tiwari to apply for an exemption in home quarantine period because of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the city. Rajput, 34, was found dead in his apartment in Bandra in Mumbai on June 14. Mumbai Police have said the actor died by suicide. 

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