The CBI has registered an FIR in connection with the death of Disha Salian, former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, naming no accused in compliance with Bombay High Court directives, officials said on Monday.
The FIR, registered on September 13, does not name any individual and invokes Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections relating to criminal conspiracy, gang rape, murder, disappearance of evidence, and public servants framing incorrect records to shield offenders.
The Central Bureau of Investigation officials said the case was registered on the high court's order, and recording of statements, alongside the formal investigation, had commenced. According to officials, the FIR follows a September 2 order by the Bombay High Court on a petition filed by Disha’s father, Satish Salian.
His statement, recorded by the CBI on September 11, disclosed offences punishable under IPC Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 376(D) (gang rape), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 217 and 218 (public servant disobeying law/framing incorrect record).
The FIR records that Disha, 28, was working as a celebrity manager at the time of her death. The alleged incident occurred on the intervening night of June 8 and 9, 2020, at a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area.
According to her father's statement, Disha left her parents' residence on June 4, 2020, for an advertisement shoot. While she remained in regular contact until June 6, her calls went unanswered from June 7, with her mobile phone subsequently being answered by her fiancee.
Malwani Police informed her father on June 9 that an incident had occurred after a party, later adding that she had committed suicide.
However, her father told the CBI that he doubted the suicide theory after viewing photographs of his daughter's body on June 11, alleging an absence of visible blood or multiple injuries. He further alleged that he was persuaded to accept that she accidentally fell while intoxicated, and claimed police obtained his signatures on documents without explaining their contents.
The Bombay High Court's division bench of Justices Sarang V Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale had observed that the investigation could not drag on indefinitely, highlighting "glaring discrepancies" in the initial probe and criticising local police for treating the matter solely as an accidental death for years.
Disha died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 12th floor of the Malad building. A week later, on June 14, 2020, actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment, triggering a widespread public uproar and a subsequent CBI probe into his death.
The agency later submitted a closure report in Sushant’s case, concluding that it was a suicide, which remains pending before the competent court. While ordering Mumbai Police to transfer all documents to the CBI, the high court instructed the central agency not to name anyone as an accused at this stage.
"Nobody shall be treated as an accused unless, in the opinion of the investigating officer, there are sufficient grounds to raise reasonable suspicion against him depending on the material collected during the investigation," the bench had stated.
Although Satish Salian had sought an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, the bench refrained from commenting on any individual, stating the probe fell under the agency's purview. Aaditya has denied all allegations, calling the petition false and politically motivated.
The high court added that if the CBI finds no case made out after investigation, it may file an appropriate summary report, which the petitioner remains at liberty to challenge.
Disha’s father, who has been running a small business of homemade chutneys and spices since 1990, alleged in his statement before the CBI that while working she had come across a racket of drugs and child trafficking. However, it was not clear in the statement as to how he had come to know about it to make such claims.
In his statement, the father named senior politicians and Bollywood actors and several policemen who he believed should be investigated in his daughter's case.
Besides this, the father has cited several print and electronic media news reports and also informed the CBI that neither he nor his family members were ever furnished a copy of the postmortem report of his daughter.
