top of page

By:

Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

Truth Delayed

The Bombay High Court’s decision to hand the Disha Salian death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is a welcome, though long overdue move. For six years, the death of the 28-year-old celebrity manager has remained trapped between an official narrative and a cloud of unanswered questions. Salian fell from the 14th floor of a Mumbai building on June 8, 2020. Six days later, actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whom she had managed, was found dead. The coincidence has since fuelled...

Truth Delayed

The Bombay High Court’s decision to hand the Disha Salian death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is a welcome, though long overdue move. For six years, the death of the 28-year-old celebrity manager has remained trapped between an official narrative and a cloud of unanswered questions. Salian fell from the 14th floor of a Mumbai building on June 8, 2020. Six days later, actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whom she had managed, was found dead. The coincidence has since fuelled enormous public speculation. The disturbing question is why it took so long for the machinery of justice to seriously address the allegations made by Salian’s own father. Satish Salian has alleged that his daughter was sexually assaulted and murdered and has sought an FIR naming Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and others. The Mumbai Police and state authorities had maintained that there was no foul play. When a bereaved parent continues to raise serious questions about the circumstances of a child’s death, the answer cannot simply be bureaucratic closure. The High Court has now opened the case to an independent investigation. The CBI has been directed to register an FIR and investigate all aspects of the circumstances surrounding Salian’s death. The court has also made clear that nobody should be treated as an accused unless the investigation establishes a reasonable basis for doing so. There should be no political protection racket in the name of preserving reputations. If the allegations of murder and sexual assault are false, the investigation should establish that conclusively. If they are true, those responsible must face the law. And that includes the powerful and well-connected. Too many cases where involving influence, political connections or proximity to power have created a justified suspicion that ordinary rules do not apply to extraordinary people. It is time that corrosive public perception changed. The significance of the High Court’s order lies in restoring a credible search for answers – something that has not been in evidence in the last six years. When allegations of foul play are made by the family and an FIR is not registered, questions about the adequacy of the original investigation are inevitable. The court has now ensured that those questions are examined rather than allowed to gather dust. The CBI must now go beyond the competing narratives that have surrounded the case since 2020. Its job is to establish, through evidence, what happened that night, whether the circumstances of Salian’s death were properly investigated in the first place, and whether there is any basis for the serious allegations made by her father. After six years, the Salian family deserves more than competing versions of events. It deserves the truth. So does the public.

Knives out in legislature

Updated: Mar 21, 2025

Disha Salian

Mumbai: Death of celebrity manager Disha Salian in 2020 once again rocked the Maharashtra legislature on Thursday. While cabinet ministers Nitesh Rane and Shambhuraj Desai demanded that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray be arrested in the case, BJP MLA Amit Satam in the assembly and another BJP member Chitra Wagh in the council demanded that the report of SIT to probe Salian’s death be made public.


Incidentally, amidst repeated disruptions in both the houses, some members from the treasury benches were seen speaking in favour of Aditya Thackeray, while Shiv Sena (UBT) members like Adv Anil Parab were seen supporting the BJP members’ demand that the report of the SIT probe be made public. In addition, there were allegations and counter allegations and personal accusations among members from the treasury and opposition benches which led to heated debate on occasions.


The opposition termed the attempts from the treasury benches to link Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s name in the case, as a ‘conspiracy’.


“I think this matter has gone to the court. We have no idea what he (Disha’s father) has said, but Aaditya Thackeray is a mature leader, a young leader. The Bharatiya Janata Party is conspiring to defame him by putting pressure on him. We don’t need to answer to this conspiracy. The court will answer,” Ambadas Danve said.


Earlier in the day, when the house gathered for the business, Minister of State for Home appraised the assembly of the status in this case. “SIT has been formed to probe in the case. Their report has not been received as yet. However, the government shall act according to directives from the court,” the minister told the house.


Another BJP minister Nitesh Rane, however, said that since Satish Salian has levelled allegations against an MVA minister, that leader be treated like a common person and that everybody should be treated equally before the law. Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai too supported the demand. “Since the allegations are grave, the person in question should be immediately arrested and the case be investigated,” he said.


Later, while speaking to media in the legislature premises, Rane asked Uddhav Thackeray to come clean on the issue. “If they say that we are politicizing the issue, Uddhav Thackeray should also tell the people why he had called, not just once but twice, to the then union minister Narayan Rane urging him to save his son?” Rane said.


He also accused the opposition of shying away from coming clean on the issue. “If they feel that we are not telling the truth, they should say so in the house. But they are shying away from doing so. Bhaskar Jadhav, who is always aggressive, was nowhere to be seen when this issue came up in the house. Sunil Prabhu too escaped the house under the pretext of a phone call. I challenge them to say that whatever I said on the issue is wrong,” Rane said.


He also said that Aditya Thackeray should resign on moral grounds till his name is cleared in the case.


BJP MLA Amit Satam demanded that the details of the SIT probe be made public so that the people would know if the probe is headed in right direction.


Interestingly, while the ruling parties were targeting the opposition in the case, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar surprised all with his unexpected support to Thackerays. “I do not have any evidences in the case. But if her father has made any fresh allegations that needs to be investigated thoroughly. The assembly can discuss the issue at length tomorrow. In the meanwhile, members like Rane, who seem to have some evidences in the case should hand them over to the investigating agencies and help the probe,” he told the house.


Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Gaikwad and Sheetal Mhatre too toed the line and demanded that more and more evidences should come forth.


Similarly, when members of treasury benches were pushing for revealing the details of the probe till date to the public, Shiv Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab supported the demand. “Doing that shall conclusively prove the innocence of Aditya Thackeray,” he said.

Comments

bottom of page