The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed its registry department to place before an appropriate bench the petition filed by Satish Salian, father of late celebrity manager Disha Salian, seeking a CBI probe into his daughter’s death and an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray. The plea was initially heard by a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale before being referred for reassignment.
Salian’s legal team argued that the case pertains to crimes against women and should be assigned to the division bench headed by Justice Sarang Kotwal. The court subsequently ordered the registry department to take necessary steps for the petition’s reassignment.
Satish Salian has alleged that his daughter was brutally raped and murdered, and that a politically motivated cover-up was orchestrated to protect influential individuals. Initially, he trusted the Mumbai Police’s investigation but now believes it was a deliberate attempt to suppress the truth. His plea claims that the police hastily labeled the case as suicide or accidental death without thoroughly examining forensic evidence, circumstantial proof, or eyewitness testimonies.
Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Malad. The Mumbai Police registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) but did not pursue a deeper investigation. Just six days later, Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, for whom Salian had previously worked as a manager, was found dead in his Bandra apartment. While initially ruled as a suicide, Rajput’s case was later handed over to the CBI.
In a recent development, the CBI submitted a closure report on Salian’s case, but her father continues to demand a fresh probe, alleging that key evidence was ignored to shield those in power. The petition also calls for an FIR against Aaditya Thackeray, further fueling political controversy surrounding the high-profile case.
