Aaditya moves HC, opposes petition filed by Disha Salian’s father

Satish Salian alleges his daughter Disha was gangraped and murdered, and an elaborate plan was hatched by the police, political figures, and other influential individuals including Aaditya Thackeray to hush up the case

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday approached the Bombay high court, opposing a petition filed by Satish Salian, the father of deceased celebrity manager Disha Salian, who sought an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into his daughter’s death.

Aaditya Thackeray

Disha was believed to have fallen to her death from a high-rise building in Malad on June 8, 2020. But her father later alleged that she was gangraped and murdered, and an elaborate plan was hatched by the police, political figures, and other influential individuals including Thackeray to hush up the case. Following directions issued by the state government on December 11, 2023, a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted to probe the allegations levelled by Satish Salian.

On Wednesday, when the division bench of justices Ajey Gadkari and Rajesh Patil took up Salian’s petition, Thackeray objected to it, saying the Supreme Court was already seized of the matter and had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit a report before it.

Thackeray said that the case had been investigated by various agencies including the CBI, Maharashtra police and Bihar police, and since the agencies had not found any proof of foul play, there was no substance in Salian’s prayers. Instead, the plea was a means to interfere with the CBI’s investigation and must be dismissed, Thackeray said.

Senior police inspector Shailendra Nagarkar, who heads the SIT constituted by the state government, told the court that Salian’s plea was baseless and unfounded.

The accidental death report registered a day after the celebrity manager’s death was based on the post-mortem report, which said there was no sign of sexual or physical assault on her body, said Nagarkar. Disha’s mother, Vasanti, had not raised any suspicion about her daughter’s death during the investigation by Maharashtra police and the SIT’s findings were coherent with the earlier investigation, he noted.

Advocate Nilesh Ojha, representing Satish Salian, said the state government had failed to comply with the court’s directions dated April 30, when the chief secretary was asked to file an affidavit in response to his client’s petition.

“This direction was issued in order to ensure an investigation into the conduct of a commissioner of police. But a senior police inspector has filed the reply,” Ojha said.