The father of deceased celebrity manager Disha Salian visited the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) office on Thursday and handed over a pen drive to the investigating officer.
The Malwani police registered an accidental death report in connection with the incident in 2020 and concluded that it was a suicide and that there was no evidence suggesting any foul play in it. A Special Investigation Team set up by the state government in December 2023 also found no foul play in Disha’s death.
His lawyer, advocate Nilesh Ojha, argued that Disha’s death was the outcome of a “deep-rooted conspiracy involving powerful people” and that she was subjected to brutal sexual assault and murdered.
Last year, however, Disha’s father Satish Salian approached the high court, claiming that his daughter was sexually assaulted and murdered.
The CBI on September 11 recorded Salian’s statement to register its First Information Report (FIR), as the first step in its investigation. The CBI’s Delhi unit on September 13 registered a case to probe the death based on the father’s statement, as per a Bombay High Court order of September 2. The FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to suspected offences including criminal conspiracy, gang rape, murder, causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information to screen offenders, public servants disobeying directions of law with intent to save persons from punishment, and public servants framing an incorrect record with intent to save persons from punishment.
Salian’s lawyer, advocate Nilesh Ojha, claimed on the day, “The key points in the statement [of his client Salian] were that Disha Salian was gang-raped and then murdered, and there was a cover-up to hide the crimes, in which some then police officers were also involved,” Ojha had said, alleging that several high-profile individuals and a former policeman had played a role in the case.
