‘Repeating the same method’: Jiah Khan's mother speaks out on Disha Salian case after Sooraj Pancholi's name in FIR

The FIR stems directly from a detailed fresh statement recorded by Salian’s father, Satish Salian, at the CBI’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) office in Mumbai.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a first information report (FIR) to commence its probe into the 2020 death of celebrity manager Disha Salian. The CBI recently registered an FIR in connection with Disha's 2020 death, with several people, including Sooraj Pancholi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, Rohan Roy, Rhea Chakraborty and others, named in the FIR for investigation.

Jiah Khan died on June 3, 2013, at the age of 25. Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after falling from a high-rise residential building in Mumbai.

Sooraj then clarified that he did not know Disha in any capacity. The actor went through one of the most difficult phases of his life during the trial in Jiah Khan’s suicide case. The actor was, however, acquitted by the special CBI court after being found not guilty.

What did Jiah's mother say?

Now, Jiah Khan's mother, Rabya Khan has reacted after Sooraj Pancholi’s name surfaced in the CBI FIR of Disha Salian's case. She took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday evening and wrote a long note to share her opinion on the case. It began, “When I hear that the same names have surfaced in another young #DishaSalian murder six years ago, it deeply saddens me and this must alarm everyone. I know from Jiah case what can happen when crucial evidence were all destroyed and replaced to fool the victims. Once evidence is destroyed, truth becomes harder to discover.”

She added, “The High Court itself has recognised serious discrepancies in Disha's investigation into Disha’s case, they know there is no evidence left. However, when important evidence has already been lost or destroyed, any fresh investigation will face an enormous handicap. They are repeating the same method: of justice due to lack of evidence and calling it an abetment to suicide thia word abetting was also not investigated. They are implementing similar method as in Jiah's case.”

Rabya Khan via Instagram Stories.

Jiah's mother went on to add that victims and their families deserve answers. She said that investigators should preserve and examine every piece of potentially relevant evidence rather than allowing it to disappear. Otherwise, future investigations may also be unable to uncover the truth. “Disha deserves the truth, just as Jiah did,” she added.

FIR in Disha Salian case

Disha Salian was found dead on June 8, 2020, days before Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his residence. Her death had earlier been recorded as an Accidental Death Report (ADR). Nearly six years after her death, the CBI registered an FIR in the case following an order by the Bombay High Court directing the agency to conduct a probe.

The FIR lists several individuals, including Aaditya Thackeray, Rhea Chakraborty, Sooraj Pancholi, Dino Morea, Rohan Roy and others, whose roles are being investigated.

Advocate Nilesh Ojha, who is representing Disha's father Satish Salian in the case, told ANI, "That FIR is for gang rape, murder, and a cover-up of this crime. This FIR has been registered under the main offences: Sections 376D, 302, 201, 217, 218, read with 120B of the IPC. The names involved in the FIR are Aaditya Thackeray, then Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi, Aaditya Thackeray's bodyguard, Rohan Roy, Rhea Chakraborty, Param Bir Singh, then DCP Vishal Thakur, and the police officer who made false records, the PI of Malwani police station, and members of the SIT. Then the doctor Sanjay Yadav.... Then the chemical analyst of the forensic lab who changed the report of gang rape."