Vikas Singh, the lawyer representing Sushant Singh Rajput’s father, has said that he regrets not recording a phone conversation he had with Dr Sudhir Gupta, the head of the AIIMS panel that ruled out murder in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. The lawyer has opposed the panel’s findings, and has called for a new one to be constituted. The panel of AIIMS doctors termed Sushant’s death ‘a case of hanging and death by suicide’. In a report submitted to the CBI on September 29, the six-member team of forensic doctors said that there were ‘no injuries on the body other than of hanging’ nor was ‘presence of any sedative material’ detected, dismissing claims of strangulation and poisoning.
Vikas Singh told Republic TV that Dr Gupta himself had reached out to him after Sushant’s father filed an FIR against Rhea Chakraborty. He said, “When the Sushant tragedy happened and we got the FIR registered, he [Gupta] only rang me up. I said ‘I’m not interested in any help, I’m only interested in the truth’. So I shared some photographs taken by Sushant’s sister Meetu at the site.” He said that the doctor’s ‘immediate, spontaneous reaction’ upon seeing the photos was that it’s ‘200% death by strangulation’. The lawyer said that he subsequently had a conversation with the doctor, which he regrets not recording. He said, “I’m not the kind of person who records calls, but in retrospect, I should have. But I’m sure when this goes to further examination his lies will be exposed.” Sushant died on June 14. His death is being investigated by the CBI, with the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate carrying out separate investigations into other angles.