The FIR filed in connection with the mysterious death of celebrity manager Disha Salian attributes her death to a well-orchestrated criminal conspiracy hatched to protect Aaditya Thackeray, son of former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and other accused.
In the FIR, Disha’s father, Satish Ishwar Salian, pointed out inconsistencies in the police’s version of the circumstances surrounding Disha’s death and the contradictions in the evidence, the medical records, and the statements of the witnesses, which caused him to suspect the investigation into his daughter’s death. He said that he was not convinced by the ‘suicide theory’ given by the police in his daughter’s death. Disha’s father was not given a copy of her post-mortem report for five years after her death, and was handed over the report last year after his lawyer’s intervention.
A well-planned conspiracy to protect the high and the mighty
Satish Salian says that his daughter was gang-raped and killed as part of a well-planned conspiracy to protect Aaditya Thackeray and other accused, who were involved in criminal activities, including drug smuggling and child abuse, that she had come to know about.
“The accused persons conspired together to silence victim DS (Disha Salian), and in furtherance of the said conspiracy, she was gang-raped and murdered, and a false story of suicide was created to cover up the crime,” Disha’s father stated in the FIR.
Disha and Sushant wanted to expose Aaditya Thackeray and others
As per the contents of the FIR, Disha Salian and her late friend and actor Sushant Singh Rajput possessed incriminating information concerning alleged drug trafficking, child abuse, and other unlawful activities involving Aaditya Thackeray and others. She and Rajput intended to disclose the information through a press conference, which is why they conspired to eliminate her.
“My daughter, victim DS, shared a close friendship with Sushant Singh Rajput, a film actor, and had also worked as his manager. In the course of her work, she came into possession of incriminating and objectionable information concerning alleged drug trafficking, child abuse, and other unlawful activities involving Aaditya Thackeray and others. She shared this information with Sushant Singh Rajput, and they intended to bring the same into the public domain through a press conference,” Disha’s father stated in the FIR. He said that Disha was gang-raped and murdered as part of the conspiracy, and a false suicide story was concocted as a cover-up.
According to Disha’s father, Sushant Singh Rajput shared his and Disha’s plan to expose the criminal activities of Thackeray and others with Rhea Chakraborty, who passed on the information to Thackeray and Dino Morya. As a result, Thackeray and his associates hatched a conspiracy to kill Disha Salian to prevent her from exposing the information against them.
The FIR states that after Disha’s death, Sushant feared that the accused would kill him. Therefore, to save himself, he instructed his staff to delete digital evidence, including data from mobile phones and other devices. “A cyber expert was also allegedly called to delete/erase CCTV footage and other digital material relating to the premises where the relevant meetings had taken place. This fact was subsequently disclosed by his family members and staff in their statements in connection with the CBI investigation of another case relating to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death,” the FIR mentioned.
Uddhav Thackeray and his son played a key role in the cover-up
According to Disha’s father, several police officers and public servants played an active role in the implementation of the conspiracy that led to his daughter’s death. He adds that Aaditya Thackeray, who was a cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government at the time, and his father, Uddhav Thackeray, then the Maharashtra CM, played key roles in the conspiracy and the cover-up.
The FIR alleges involvement of Aaditya Thackeray and several others, including Disha’s fiancé Rohan Roy, actors Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi, Aaditya Thackeray’s bodyguards, actress Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty, former police officer Sachin Vaze, former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh, DCP Vishal Thakur, and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in Disha Salian’s death.
Disha’s father said crucial electronic evidence, such as mobile-tower/location records showing the presence of Aditya Thackeray, Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi near the crime scene around the time of her death, went mysteriously missing from the investigation records.
“The disappearance/non-production of such crucial electronic evidence requires investigation to ascertain who removed or suppressed these records, at what stage, on whose instructions, and for whose benefit,” the father said in the FIR. He also pointed to the disappearance of records and videography of crime scene reconstruction, which contradicted the distance of landing given by the police, from the investigation record.
Contradiction in witness statements and CCTV footage
The FIR points out contradictions in the statements of witnesses, including Rohan Roy, regarding the circumstances surrounding Disha’s death. It states that Roy, the security guard of the building where Roy resided, and other persons told the police that Disha did not leave the building after she arrived there to stay with her fiancé on June 4, 2020. As per their version, Disha jumped from the building at around 1:20 a.m. on the intervening night of June 8 and 9, 2020, after speaking over a phone call with Ankita Satur.
According to the FIR, the version given by Roy and others that Disha never left the building since June 4, 2020, was contradicted by the CCTV footage, which showed her entering Flat No. 1101 at about 8:15 p.m. on 8 June 2020. The version that she jumped from the building around 1:20 a.m. is contradicted by the CCTV footage, which shows Rohan Roy and police personnel using the lift of the building around 12:55 a.m. and going to Flat No. 1202.
The FIR also highlighted material inconsistencies in the details relating to the condition of Disha’s body, clothes, and post-mortem.
Discrepancies in medical and police records
According to the FIR, the medical and police records established that Disha’s vaginal and anal swabs were collected and sent to the Forensic Laboratory for examination. But the record was subsequently changed and, instead of the forensic result of the vaginal and anal swabs, a report dated August 28, 2020, concerning ‘smear slides’ was produced.
The FIR says that Dr Dhanraj Jadhav, who conducted the post-mortem, claimed that the mention of the word ‘swab’ in earlier medical records was a ‘mistake’ and that only smears had actually been collected. However, as per the FIR, Dr Jadhav’s claim was contradicted by the SIT record, which specifically stated that the vaginal and anal swabs had been collected and sent to the Forensic Laboratory for examination.
Disha Salian’s suspicious death
Celebrity manager Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after allegedly falling from a residential building in Mumbai’s Malad area. She had briefly worked as Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager before her death.
Strangely, just six days after Disha’s death, Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his residence in Bandra on June 14, 2020. The deaths of Disha and Sushant stirred widespread speculation about any possible connection. A CBI investigation was conducted into Sushant’s death, which ended with a closure report stating suicide as the cause of his death. The closure report remains to be considered by the court.
The FIR relating to Salian’s death was filed during a CBI inquiry into the case initiated on the order of the Bombay High Court passed earlier this month. The court had questioned the six-year-long investigation carried out by the Mumbai Police into Salian’s death and highlighted “glaring discrepancies” in it.
