CBI registers FIR in Disha Salian's death case; Aaditya Thackeray, Dino Morea named

Twelve days after the Bombay high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the death of celebrity manager Disha Salian, the central agency on Monday said it has registered the First Information Report (FIR) in the case to commence the probe.

A CBI official, while confirming the development to HT today, said, "The FIR in the Disha Salian case has been registered as per the Bombay high court's orders." The official declined to provide any further details about the FIR, including the accused and the sections invoked.

The CBI registered the FIR after recording the statement of Disha's father, Satish Salian, on Friday at its Mumbai office located at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), as the first step in its investigation.

After recording his statement at the CBI office in BKC, Salian said on Friday, “I have recorded my statement with the CBI, and you can learn about it tomorrow. I have spoken about those who were involved.”

On Monday, Salian told HT, "Yes, I learnt that the FIR has been registered."

His lawyer, advocate Nilesh Ojha, claimed on Friday that in Salian’s statement, he gave additional information apart from what was submitted to the high court, and his statement will become part of the CBI’s FIR. “The key points in the statement 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.

Disha, 24, died after falling from a 12th-floor flat in Malad on June 9, 2020. The Malwani police registered an accidental death report in connection with the incident and, on inquiry, concluded that it was a suicide and there was no evidence suggesting any foul play. A Special Investigation Team set up by the state government in December 2023 also found no foul play in Disha's death.

Initially, Satish Salian and his wife too maintained that they did not suspect any foul play in the death of their daughter and specifically said so in their statements given to the Malwani police. However, last year, Salian approached the high court, seeking an independent probe into the incident, claiming that his daughter had been raped and murdered.

Acting on his petition, the high court on September 2 ordered a CBI probe in the case after finding that the ADR inquiry was inadequate and noticing certain discrepancies in the inquiry report.