Disha Salian’s Death Haunting Aaditya Thackeray again, Shiv Sena Rubbishes Allegation
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has called it as an attempt to “malign his image” as a five-year old charge is being reopened seeking for filling a police case against him and handing over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the alleged mysterious circumstances of the death of the celebrity PR manager Disha Salian in June 2020.
The issue has been reopened by her father Satish Salian who has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court demanding that an FIR be filed against Aaditya Thackeray and that the probe into the death of Disha, the manager of the late noted Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, be transferred to the CBI.
“Attempts are being made for the last five years to malign my image. We will put forth our side in the court. We will give our replies (to the allegations) in the court,” Mr Aaditya Thackeray said in response to the petition.
Disha was claimed to have committed suicide by jumping from the 14th floor of a high-rise building in Malad locality in Mumbai and six days later Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging from ceiling in his flat. In his petition, Satish Salian, however, has claimed that Disha was raped and murdered alleging involvement of Aaditya Thackeray in the incident.
“The petition claimed that his daughter was raped and murdered, and subsequently there was a politically-orchestrated cover-up to protect certain influential persons,” Satish Salian told reporters.
Mr Thackeray said the demand made by her father who believes she was raped and murdered, and her death covered up by politicians – is an attempt to malign his image, an exercise in play for the past five years. “We will put forth our side… give our replies in court,” he said.
Sena boss and ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray echoed his son’s dismissal, saying, “I was surprised this issue had not been raised so far (in the ongoing Assembly session)… in every session it is raked up. We will represent our side in the court. There is no truth to this allegation.”
This is not the first time Mr Thackeray has found himself linked to Ms Salian’s death; in December 2022 there were demands – by BJP leaders and those from Eknath Shinde’s breakaway Sena faction – that he face a ‘lie detector’ test.
In his petition, Mr Salian claimed his daughter had been raped and murdered, and that aspects of her death, as well as that of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, a client of hers who died six days later, had been covered up by prominent politicians such as Mr Thackeray.
Mr Salian has claimed high-profile political leaders, like Aaditya Thackeray and Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, had pressured him into avoid implicating certain individuals. He also claimed evidence had been fabricated to show his daughter had died by suicide.
The reality, Mr Salian has argued, is that his daughter had been subject to “psychological manipulation” by associates of Mr Thackeray and Rohan Roy, Ms Salian’s fiancée. Mr Salian has pointed to the lack of bloodstains and injuries consistent with falling from the 14th floor of the apartment block – which, authorities have said, was how his daughter died. These inconsistencies prompted the demand for Mr Thackeray to be questioned.
The Salian petition also notes a written complaint had been filed against the Shiv Sena leader in January last year. It claims no police case was filed after that, and a CBI inquiry was hushed. Mr Rajput’s father, KK Singh, has also backed the Salian’s probe demand. “I don’t know his reasons… but what he did was right. We can get a conclusion… it will also shed light on Sushant’s case.”
The allegations have triggered a spat between Mr Thackeray and the Shiv Sena and the ruling BJP. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut questioned the timing of the petition, claiming it was meant to divert attention from criticism of the BJP amid violent riots in Nagpur over Aurangzeb’s tomb. “Some power is working behind the petitioner. A discussion is being created, leaving aside the Aurangzeb issue,” he said, condemning attempts “to defame the Thackeray family.”
Mr Raut’s colleague, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve, also accused the BJP of conspiring to defame” Mr Thackeray. “We have no idea what Disha’s father said, but Aaditya is a mature leader.” He has also been backed by Anil Deshmukh of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP group.
The Maharashtra fisheries minister Nitesh Rane accused the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of trying to cover up the facts about the death of Disha Salian, and expressed confidence that eventually, the “truth will come out in court.”
“Our MLA, Ameet Satam, raised this issue in the House today. The entire history was said of how everything happened. This case happened during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, how it was covered up, how CCTV footage was made to disappear, how pressure was put on doctors… Her father has accused that post-mortem report was changed,” Mr Rane said.
Targeting Mr Thackeray, Mr Rane said as per the Supreme Court’s past decisions, if a person is facing allegations of rape, he must be arrested. He also demanded Mr Thackeray’s resignation as an MLA. “We have demanded this in the House (assembly),” Mr Rane told reporters.
Mr Danve, who is the leader of opposition in the legislative council, alleged that the BJP was behind the attempts to target Thackeray. The BJP-led government was free to investigate the case, he told reporters. NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad questioned why Disha Salian’s father remained silent for five years, and said it was pure politics.
Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after falling off the 14th floor of a residential building in suburban Malad. The city police had then registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) case. Six days later Mr Rajput was found dead too, in his Bandra home. In 2023, the Mumbai police formed a three-member special investigation team (SIT) and ruled that Disha’s was an accidental death.
But the BJP has since repeatedly claimed both Ms Salian and Mr Rajput were murdered, and that the Uddhav Thackeray government, in power at the time, covered up Aaditya Thackeray’s role.
Mr Salian alleged that a political cover-up was orchestrated to protect influential people involved in the case. His lawyer, Nilesh C Ojha, has accused former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh of not wanting to take action against Aaditya Thackeray and working with corrupt police officials to bury the alleged crime.
28-year-old Disha Salian used to work as a celebrity manager, known especially for working with late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Disha had also worked with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan during her film Jazba, and actor Varun Sharma before she started working with Sushant Singh Rajput. The Mumbai police had stated there was no link between Disha’s and Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
Disha Salian lived in a Dadar flat with her parents Satish and Vasanti Salian. Later, during the COVID-19 induced lockdown, her fiancé Rohan Roy also moved in with them. Roy, who is also an actor, had purchased a flat on the 14th floor of the Regent Galaxy building in Malad West, Mumbai, where they planned to stay after marriage. However, the flat became known as the place where Disha eventually died.
Rohan Roy reportedly got married to his co-star Sheen Dass in 2020. Sources close to Disha had alleged that she had been frustrated due to roadblocks in various projects associated with her work during lockdown. After her death was ruled accidental, her parents expressed that they were satisfied with the probe and suspected no foul play in the investigation.
However, in his recent plea to the Bombay High Court, Satish Salian said, “The Mumbai police hastily closed the death as a case of suicide or accidental death without taking into account forensic evidence, circumstantial proof and eyewitness testimonies.”
