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Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found dead at his
residence in Mumbai on June 14 which police termed an
"accidental death". Local media said he was found hanging from
the ceiling and described his death as a suicide.
Rajput's death has triggered heated debate on prime time news
channels and conspiracy theories on social media.
His family had also asked for a federal investigation into the
factors leading to his death, and a tug-of-war between two state
governments over the matter has muddied the waters more.
On Wednesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Indian
Supreme court that the federal government had approved a request
from the government of Bihar, Rajput's home state, to turn the
inquiry over to the federal investigation agency (CBI).
The state government of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the
capital, had refused to transfer the case to the CBI from local
police, saying it did not warrant a federal inquiry.
Bihar, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata
Party shares power with an ally, is set to go to polls later
this year, while Maharashtra, India's richest state, is ruled by
a coalition of three opposition parties.
Rajput, a TV actor who came from a middle-class family, was a
rare outsider who found success in Bollywood, an industry known
for being insular and long dominated by several families.
In the days after his death, several industry insiders,
including actress Kangana Ranaut, accused Bollywood of pushing
Rajput to the emotional brink by denying him acting
opportunities.
(Reporting by Suchitra Mohanty and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing
by Mark Heinrich)
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