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'Speculative, Not Base On Facts': CBI On Media Reports About Sushant Singh Rajput Probe

The CBI, in its first official statement, clarified that it has not shared with the media details of the ongoing investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajpu\t.
Representative image.
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Representative image.

The coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by some television news channels have perhaps been the most bizarre we have seen in recent times. From anchors carrying out “post-mortems” on air to TV channels accusing Rhea Chakraborty of doing “kala jaadu”, each day of the coverage has brought out a new level of ridiculous.

But more insidious has been the WhatsApp chats and details of Rajputs conversations with psychiatrists that have been shown by the media. Much of it has been attributed to sources from investigative agencies like the CBI.

PTI reported the CBI as saying, “Certain media reports attributed to CBI investigation are speculative and not based on facts. It is reiterated that as a matter of policy, CBI does not share details of ongoing investigation,” the agency said.

“CBI spokesperson or any team member has not shared any details of investigation with media. The details being reported and attributed to CBI are not credible,” it said.

Apart from the CBI, the Narcotics Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate are also probing cases related to Rajput’s death.

The media coverage of Rajput’s deaths have raised eyebrows, with people — including some panelists of the debates — calling them out.

In an interview with Huffpost India, Shashwati Goswami, a professor at the New Delhi-based journalism college Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), told HuffPost India, “The dying breed of reporters is urgently required to be revived for the health of the media. They are the ones who show the mirror to society. Without them, news (television) has become just mindless debates where twenty people share a screen and indulge in a competition of shouting down each other. The loss is not for the media alone, it is a loss for ideals of democracy.”

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.