Mumbai: Mumbai Police on Tuesday said Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was planning to cast late actor Sushant Singh Rajput in four films, but due to unavailability of his dates the movies were offered to other actors.

Rajput (34) was found hanging at his suburban Bandra residence on June 14.

The Bandra police, who are probing professional rivalry angle in the case of Rajput's death, recorded the statement of Bhansali on Monday. During questioning, it came to light that Rajput was not able to work with Bhansali as his dates were not available, said a senior police officer probing the case.

The police are probing why Rajput was not able to do films with Bhansali and are examining his contracts with other production houses.

All important details in the case are being investigated, the official said, adding that the police have so far recorded statements of 34 people, including Rajputs family members, close friends and colleagues.

The police are also waiting for a response from Twitter on the alleged tweets posted from Rajput's micro- blogging handle and circulated on social media just before his death, he said.

The official also said the CCTV footage of the building where Rajput resided has been taken into custody for investigation. There was no CCTV installed in the late actor's house, he added.

The police earlier sent viscera from the actor's body and the gown which he allegedly used to hang himself for chemical and forensic analysis at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in suburban Kalina. The forensic lab report is awaited, the official said.

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New Delhi (PTI): India has protested in the strongest possible terms the references made by a Canadian minister about Union Home Minister Amit Shah and such "absurd and baseless" allegations will have serious consequences for bilateral ties between the two countries, the Minister of External Affairs said on Saturday.

The comments came after Canada's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison on Tuesday alleged that Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.

Morrison had also told Canadian Parliament members of the national security committee that he had confirmed Shah's name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this revelation that high Canadian government officials deliberately leaked unfounded insinuations to international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view that the Indian government has long held about the current Canadian government's political agenda and behavioural pattern.

Replying to queries during a weekly press briefing here, Jaiswal said such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties.

He said India summoned a Canadian High Commission representative on Friday and the official was served a diplomatic note to lodge the protest in strongest terms on the "absurd and baseless" references made by the Canadian deputy minister about India's Union Home Minister.

While addressing the Parliament members, Morrison did not say how Canada knew of Shah's alleged involvement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

Dismissing the allegations as absurd, Indian government officials have consistently denied that Canada provided evidence.