The Bombay High Court on Monday questioned the Mumbai Police over their decision not to register a First Information Report (FIR) into the 2020 death of former celebrity manager Disha Salian, despite formal suspicions raised by her family.
A division bench comprising Justice Bharti Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande asked state authorities why an accidental death report was maintained instead of initiating a criminal probe when the victim’s father alleged foul play. The court also scheduled the next hearing in the case for August 24.
Questions Raised Over Postmortem and Probe
During the proceedings, the bench raised doubts regarding the physical evidence in the case, particularly the postmortem findings. Justice Dangre questioned how an individual falling from a 14th-floor height could show no injuries according to postmortem documentation.
Responding to the bench, Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray stated that police conducted two separate inquiries into the incident, both concluding that Salian had died by suicide. Hiray added that witness statements supported this finding and pointed out that photographic evidence indicated head injuries.
However, counsel Nilesh Ojha, representing Salian’s father Satish Salian, countered the prosecution’s statements. Ojha alleged that early photographs shared by investigators displayed no such trauma and accused the police of fabricating subsequent images showing head injuries.
Court Raps Police Over Withheld Documents
The High Court also admonished the police for refusing to provide basic case records, including the Accidental Death Report (ADR), to the petitioner. The bench noted that because the police claim no formal FIR exists and no active investigation is underway, there was no valid reason to withhold standard documents from the family.
Allegations and Background of the Case
Satish Salian filed the petition in the High Court last year, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the registration of an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray. The petition alleges that his daughter was gang-raped and murdered on June 8, 2020, after falling from a residential building in Mumbai’s Malad suburb, followed by a politically driven effort to cover up the crime and protect influential individuals.
Disha Salian had briefly worked as a manager for actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who died by suicide on June 14, 2020.
