By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, August 30:
The ongoing investigation by CBI into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput may be delayed since one of the Mumbai Police officer who met the CBI team a few days back has tested positive for Corona virus.
DCP Zone IX Abhishek Trimukhe who had met CBI officials investigating the Sushant Singh Rajput Death Case around five days ago has tested positive for Corona virus. Trimukhe who is the DCP of the north zone Mumbai and his entire family have tested positive for the virus. He was a key official in the Sushant’s death case and was the official who handed over case material to CBI. CBI team led by SP Nupur Prasad had discussions with Trimukhe on the case after arriving in Mumbai.
Besides this meeting, Trimukhe had met the CBI team for a few hours on Saturday. Since being in proximity to an infected person, raises chances of transmission there is now a concern for the CBI team. Under the circumstances, there is a possibility that the CBI team may have to be kept under quarantine. So will the investigation be paused? There has already been a considerable delay in the investigation of the case. So far the team does not show any symptoms.
As per BMC’s regulations everyone including visiting government officials are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day home isolation upon their arrival in Mumbai. The CBI team was exempted from this requirement since it had sought permission to waive this requirement before reaching Mumbai.
Even as per Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare regulations, the home quarantine period is for 14 days from contact with a confirmed case or earlier if a suspect case (of whom the index person is a contact) turns out negative on laboratory testing. A contact is defined as a healthy person that has been in such association with an infected person or a contaminated environment as to have exposed and is therefore at a higher risk of developing disease. A contact is a person who was in a closed environment or had face to face contact with a COVID-19 case at a distance of within one metre including. The epidemiological link may have occurred within a 14‐day period before the onset of illness in the case under consideration.
In the light of above regulations all those who came in contact with Trimukhe required to undergo COVID—19 test and are required to be quarantined. The CBI team reached Mumbai on 20 August in the evening for 10 days investigation work. The team comprises Additional Superintendent Anil Yadav, three investigating officers and 12 experts from the CFSL, Delhi. The team has been questioning all those, including actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family members at DRDO office at Santacruz East in North West Mumbai for the last few days.