The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into celebrity manager Disha Salian's death, underlining that no one must be treated as an accused unless the investigating officer finds sufficient material to do so.
Salian, 28, died after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad in June 2020 while partying with her fiancé and their common friends. Police registered an accidental death case. The death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whom Salian briefly worked for, by suicide six days later, fuelled speculation about the circumstances leading to the two deaths and a possible link between the cases.
Police ruled out any foul play and concluded that Salian died by suicide after she had been upset about something during the party. The February 2021 closure report filed before a magistrate concluded that nothing suspicious or objectionable was found.
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Disha Salian’s father, Satish Salian, alleged that the story about his daughter's death by suicide was created and publicised before police started their probe. He filed a petition in the high court in March 2025 challenging the police’s version.
{{/usCountry}}Disha Salian’s father, Satish Salian, alleged that the story about his daughter's death by suicide was created and publicised before police started their probe. He filed a petition in the high court in March 2025 challenging the police’s version.
{{/usCountry}}In March 2022, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narayan Rane and his son Nitesh Rane, who is now a minister in Maharashtra, raked up the issue and levelled allegations of a cover-up. A case was registered against the two for allegedly defaming Disha Salian by raising suspicion about her character based on a complaint by Disha Salian’s mother, Vasanti.
The Ranes continued to make allegations, linking Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, whose father Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister in 2020, to the case. The then-Eknath Shinde-led government ordered a re-investigation into the death in December 2023, months after Uddhav Thackeray resigned.
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A Special Investigation Team (SIT) re-investigated the case and re-recorded statements of the witnesses. Last year, Satish Salian approached the high court, claiming his daughter was raped and murdered. He accused the police of suppressing facts to save some influential people.
Police reiterated that the 28-year-old died by suicide and that they had recorded Satish Salian’s statements five times. They added that Vasanti's statement was recorded before a judicial magistrate. Police said the couple maintained that they did not suspect anyone of the death of their daughter.
On Friday last, the high court reserved its verdict on Satish Salian's plea for an independent and transparent probe into the 2020 death, observing that several aspects of the case required scrutiny.
A bench of Justices Sarang V Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale questioned Mumbai Police’s decision to close the inquiry. It said a proper investigation should be carried out before ruling out the possibility of a further probe.
Satish Salian's petition accused police officers, politicians and other influential figures of suppressing the truth. It sought action against members of the SIT, and the transfer of the case to the CBI.
Satish Salian’s lawyer Nilesh Ojha said the police were bound to investigate the matter properly before closing the case. He added that the concerned authorities concluded that there was neither rape nor murder and closed the case without furnishing the investigation report to the family for five years.
Ojha questioned the circumstances in which the dead body was found 10 feet away from the building she fell from. He added that this indicated that it could not be a suicide case. Ojha said they got it analysed and found out that the body should have fallen straight down rather than 10 feet away.
The state government told the court that it ordered a reassessment of the accidental death report in December 2022, and police examined the CCTV footage and recorded witness statements of six people, and none of them alleged any foul play.
The court emphasised that a proper investigation must be carried out so that no prejudice is caused to anyone. It questioned why the police had continued the inquiry for years if they did not suspect any foul play. The court stressed that the father’s grievance could not be brushed aside.