Mumbai police issues notice to BJP MLA Nitesh Rane in Disha Salian death case

Rane has been calling Salian's death a murder, alleging the involvement of a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader.

The Mumbai police on Thursday issued a notice to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane in connection with the death of celebrity manager Disha Salian, asking him to appear for questioning on June 12.

Nitesh Rane (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

The police will ask him about his claim and any evidence he has.

Nitesh Rane, meanwhile, said he would provide evidence on the mysterious death.

“I have just received the summons and I have been saying this since day one that this is a case of murder. I am ready to cooperate with the Mumbai Police. The MVA government wanted to do a cover-up and save Aditya Thackeray and his other friends...Whatever information I have, I am ready to give it to the police," he added.

Rane has been calling Salian's death a murder, alleging the involvement of a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader.

The police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in December last year to investigate Salian's death. She was the former manager of the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Salian, 28, was found dead on June 14, 2020, just days before 34-year-old Rajput was found hanging in his Bandra flat. Police said that Salian allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the 14th floor of a high-rise building in Malad. Her father, Satish Salian, told the police he did not suspect any foul play and was "completely satisfied" with the investigation by Mumbai Police.

Mumbai Police formed the SIT to reinvestigate Disha's death, following the state government's directive.

In Mumbai, senior inspector Chimaji Aadhav from Malvani police station was handling the investigation, supervised by Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajay Bansal.

Rane, in December, accused Aadhav of doing a poor job with the investigation and wrongly submitting a closure report. He wrote to special police commissioner Deven Bharati and additional police commissioner Rajeev Jain (north division) asking for Aadhav to be removed from the case. However, the police said Aadhav was not at Malwani police station when the case was registered.

Police officers said Aadhav was not at Malwani police station when Disha's death case was registered and only transferred there in June last year. Meanwhile, the SIT had already begun the investigation. After the inquiry, Malwani police station closed the case a few months later, declaring Disha's death an accident.