While the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI is questioning deceased Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's flatmate Siddharth Pithani who has reportedly said that the the actor's hanging body was brought down on the request of his family members, the family has refuted the claims and accused him of lying.

A very close family member of the late actor, requesting anonymity, told IANS, "Whatever Pithani's statement that is coming out in media reports that the body of Sushant was brought down on the request of family members is a lie."

"In fact the family members arrived in Mumbai from Delhi late evening on June 14 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and by that time the body was taken to Cooper Hospital for autopsy," the family member said. Sushant's body was taken to Cooper Hospital from his Bandra flat by the Mumbai Police during the day. However, his post-mortem started at 11 p.m. that night, according to sources. The family member further questioned how the key of Sushant's room went missing.

"It was shocking for us to note that the key was missing from the flat when everybody was at home. It was also surprising for us that a key maker was called and he was not allowed to enter the room," the family member said. The family member further alleged that Pithani used to work from home.

"Later he started editing videos for Rhea and in most of her Instagram posts, she has tagged him with the username of Buddha," the family member said. When asked further about the details of sister Meetu Singh staying with Sushant, the family source said that she stayed with the late actor from August 8 to 12.

Sushant was found dead in his flat on June 14. The Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case on the orders of the central government on the recommendation from the Bihar government on August 6. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court gave the nod for the federal agency to probe the case.

Following the top court's order, a team of CBI's SIT arrived in Mumbai from Delhi with the forensic department teams. The team has since then visited the flat of the actor, Waterstone resort and the Cooper Hospital twice and is questioning Pithani for the fourth time in connection with the case along with Sushant's personal staff Neeraj Singh, Dipesh Sawant, his CA Sandeep Sridhar and accountant Rajat Mewati. The CBI team has also met the doctors of Cooper Hospital who had carried out the autopsy of the late actor.