Disha Salian Murder Case: CBI FIR Mentions Aaditya, Rhea, Dino, Sooraj
MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation registered an FIR on Monday into the death of Disha Salian, the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The FIR names Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, actors Rhea Chakraborty, Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi among those whose roles require investigation.
The agency has taken over the probe from Mumbai Police nearly six years after Salian’s death, following a Bombay High Court order that highlighted serious lapses in the original inquiry.
The Bombay High Court on September 2 directed the CBI to register an FIR and conduct a thorough investigation. A bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale observed that the Mumbai Police inquiry raised more questions than answers and pointed to glaring discrepancies.
The court noted that the matter had continued for years under an Accidental Death Report (ADR) without conversion into a full investigation of a cognizable offence.
It also recorded that copies of the post-mortem report and ADR had not been provided to the family even years later.
The court ordered the CBI to appoint a senior and experienced officer, record the statement of Salian’s father Satish Salian, and examine all aspects of the circumstances surrounding her death.
It clarified that registration of the FIR does not mean anyone is automatically treated as an accused.
Nobody shall be treated as an accused unless the investigating officer finds sufficient grounds to raise reasonable suspicion based on material collected during the probe.
According to the FIR, the investigation will cover the alleged principal offences, criminal conspiracy, the subsequent creation and propagation of a false suicide story, and the suppression, destruction or fabrication of evidence.
The document states that the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, father of Aaditya Thackeray, and others played a significant role in the conspiracy and subsequent cover-up.
Concerned public servants and police officers are liable to be investigated for destruction or suppression of case papers, files and other public records, fabrication of official records, and misuse of public funds, manpower and police machinery.
Aaditya Thackeray, Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi, Rhea Chakraborty, doctors and staff linked to the delayed post-mortem are among those whose roles require investigation.
The FIR also lists Showik Chakraborty (brother of Sushant Singh Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty) , former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, former officer Sachin Vaze, DCP Vishal Thakur, former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, officers associated with Malvani Police Station, Forensic Science Laboratory officials, security guards at the building, members of the special investigation team and other individuals.
The case has been registered under sections pertaining to murder, gang rape, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and providing false information.
Disha Salian was found dead on June 8, 2020, after statedly/allegedly falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai’s Malad area. Mumbai Police registered an Accidental Death Report and later concluded it was a case of suicide. One of the contentions of the father of the victim and the lawyer appointed by the father is the mismatch of the presentation of the corpse they were handed over and its inconsistencies with the manner of death they were told she had met with.
Satish Salian’s lawyer has stated on various forums that after having allegedly fallen from the 14th floor, there was no apparent damage to the skull or overall body of the victim, neither did her clothes show massive bleeding signs.
Six days later, on June 14, 2020, Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Bandra residence. The close timing of the two deaths generated intense public scrutiny and speculation about possible links, though the cases were investigated separately.
The CBI had earlier submitted a closure report in the Rajput case concluding suicide, which awaits hearing by the competent court.
Disha’s father Satish Salian approached the Mumbai High Court alleging that his daughter was gang-raped and murdered and that there had been a cover-up.
Last week he recorded his statement before the CBI, naming individuals including Aaditya Thackeray, Sooraj Pancholi, Dino Morea and the bodyguards, and stating the facts as he knew them. He expressed confidence that the truth would prevail.
Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti also welcomed the CBI inquiry, saying it gives hope that truth will come out.
Earlier, she had reacted to the Bombay High Court’s order for a CBI probe into Disha Salian’s death by saying the development has renewed hope among Sushant Singh Rajput’s supporters, quoting “Truth may be troubled, but it can never be defeated.” In a video and note shared around Janmashtami, she expressed faith that the full truth will emerge after years, prayed to Lord Krishna for guidance on the path of truth, and affirmed that truth may be suppressed temporarily but can never be defeated, ending with “Satyamev Jayate. Jai Shri Krishna.”
The CBI had earlier sought all documents and records from Malvani Police to facilitate the investigation. The agency will now examine the circumstances of the death, the earlier police handling, post-mortem process and allegations of evidence suppression. The death happened in the early days of the lockdown in effect on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CBI will now investigate further if these allegations made in the FIR are true, what are the evidences, and what actually happened on the night that Disha Salian died.
