Fadnavis announces SIT probe into Disha Salian's death

In a significant development, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government on Thursday announced a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the death of talent manager Disha Salian, who had also worked with late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The name of Yuva Sena President Aaditya Thackeray, son of Shiv Sena President and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, had been dragged into the case when it surfaced.

The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly saw five adjournments with members of BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena demanding a re-investigation into the case saying that the Mumbai Police was under pressure from the previous Thackeray-led MVA government.

Disha (28) had reportedly committed suicide by jumping from the 14th floor of Galaxy Regent building at Malad in the far western suburbs of Mumbai on the intervening night of June 8-9 2020. Her death had taken place five days before the dead body of Sushant (34) was found at his rented duplex flat in Bandra in north-west Mumbai on June 14, 2020.

“There would be an SIT probe into the incident. The probe would be free and fair,” Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home and Law and Judiciary portfolios, told the Lower House.

BSS-BJP members - Bharat Gogawale, Nitesh Rane, Bharti Lavekar, Manisha Chaudhary, Madhuri Misal and Independent MLA Ravi Rana - demanded a probe into the episode. “The CCTV footage is missing, the post-mortem report is hidden,” said Rane.

Leader of Opposition in Assembly Ajit Pawar of the NCP said that as per his information the CBI has stated that the death of Disha Salian was an accident. “The parents of Disha Salian are hurt the way her name has been taken,” he said.

However, Fadnavis said, “There is no closure report by the CBI into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput…as far as the Disha Salian case is concerned, it was investigated by the Mumbai Police.”