Disha Salian’s father sends Rs 500cr defamation notice to Aaditya Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday alleged that he had “never met” Disha Salian

MUMBAI: Disha Salian’s father, Satish Salian, has sent a defamation notice seeking Rs 500 crore in compensation from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh over statements concerning his daughter’s death.The notice demands that the two leaders apologise, retract the statements and pay Rs 500 crore in compensation. They have been given seven days to comply with the demands.

The notice comes after Thackeray on Wednesday denied ever meeting Salian, who was the former manager of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and said attempts to link his name to her death were part of a “false campaign”.

In a post on X, Thackeray said he had “never met Disha Salian” and had no acquaintance with her.

He alleged that his name had been linked to the case repeatedly for the past six years for “political motives” and out of “personal enmity”."I have never met Disha Salian, nor did I have any acquaintance with her. For political motives, out of personal enmity, with the intent of character assassination, for the past 6 years, some people have been deliberately trying to link my name to this unfortunate incident repeatedly, despite there being no evidence or connection whatsoever."

"This constant false campaign, devoid of any facts or truth, is unfortunate. The false discussions on TV channels and media trials carried out through empty bluster cannot alter the truth. Allow the official machinery to conduct this inquiry afresh—without any interference, without political intervention, without character assassination, and impartially," he added.

CBI registers FIR

The notice comes days after the Central Bureau of Investigation registered an FIR in connection with Salian’s death on September 14, following a direction from the Bombay High Court for a thorough probe.Advocate Nilesh Ojha, who represents Satish Salian, said on Monday that the FIR names Thackeray, Rohan Roy, Rhea Chakraborty, Param Bir Singh, Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi and then DCP Vishal Thakur, among others.The FIR also names the police inspector of Malwani police station, members of the Special Investigation Team, a doctor and a chemical analyst, according to Ojha.Salian, who had worked as Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager, died in Mumbai in June 2020 after falling from a building. Her death was initially recorded as an accidental death case.The CBI is now investigating the circumstances surrounding her death afresh.