The CBI has submitted a closure report in the suicide case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, officials confirmed on Saturday. The report was presented before a special court in Mumbai, which will now decide whether to accept it or order further investigation. The case was handled by then-SP IPS Nupur Prasad, who is now the Joint CP of Delhi Police.
The IPS Officer
SP Nupur Prasad is a dynamic and experienced IPS officer known for her sharp investigative skills and leadership. She was a key member of the CBI’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the high-profile death case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020.
Nupur Prasad is a 2007-batch IPS officer from the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories) cadre. She was born on April 2, 1983, in Salempur village, Tikari, Gaya district, Bihar, into a middle-class family. Her father, Indubhushan Prasad, supported her education. Nupur studied at a private school in Bihar before graduating from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University. Since childhood, she dreamed of joining the police force, and she achieved her goal by passing the UPSC exam in 2007.
Nupur Prasad’s work in the SSR case
On June 14, 2020, Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment in Mumbai. While it was initially considered a suicide, his father, KK Singh, and the Bihar Police accused the Mumbai Police of mishandling the investigation. As a result, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the CBI on August 19, 2020. The CBI formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by SP Nupur Prasad, under the supervision of DIG Gagandeep Gambhir and Joint Director Manoj Shashidhar.
Nupur was appointed as the chief investigating officer in the case. The CBI formed three teams under her leadership:
First Team: Collected documents and evidence, including crime scene photos, the postmortem report, and the Mumbai Police forensic report.
Second Team: Interrogated key individuals, including Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her family, his flatmate Siddharth Pithani, manager Samuel Miranda, and others.
Third Team: Investigated professional rivalry and other possible angles.
Nupur personally interrogated Rhea Chakraborty for several hours. At one point, when Rhea raised her voice in frustration, Nupur responded calmly but firmly, saying, “The CBI does not want to take any hasty steps. If you are innocent, you have to prove it by cooperating with the investigation.” Her composed yet strict approach highlighted her expertise in questioning, particularly in handling female suspects with her strictness.
‘Supercop’
Nupur, known as “Supercop” in the CBI, started her career as DCP of Shahdara in Delhi Police. In 2019, she became SP in the CBI and has handled several major cases, including:
Vijay Mallya Case: Investigated financial scams linked to businessman Vijay Mallya.
AgustaWestland Scam: Helped in exposing corruption in a helicopter deal and played a key role in extraditing middleman Christian Michel from Dubai.
