Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Aug 4: The Bombay High Court on Monday questioned the Mumbai Police over its handling of the death of Disha Salian, asking why an FIR was not registered despite her father expressing suspicion about the circumstances surrounding her death.
A division bench comprising Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande sought to know why the police had registered only an accidental death report (ADR) instead of an FIR and what prevented them from conducting a more detailed investigation.
"What prevented the police from investigating the matter? If Disha Salian's father had expressed suspicion over her death, why was an FIR not registered? Why was only an accidental death case recorded?" the bench asked during the hearing.
Disha Salian, who was the former manager of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Malad, Mumbai. Police investigations at the time concluded that it was a case of suicide.
However, last year, Disha's father, Satish Salian, approached the High Court alleging that his daughter was gang-raped and later murdered. Through advocate Nilesh Ojha, he sought the registration of an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray and requested that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
During Monday's hearing, Maharashtra Advocate General Shishir Hire informed the court that the case had been registered as an accidental death and investigated twice. Both inquiries concluded that Disha had died by suicide, he said, adding that statements of witnesses also supported the findings.
The bench also questioned the post-mortem findings, observing that a person falling from the 14th floor would ordinarily be expected to suffer multiple injuries.
"If a person falls from such a height, how can there be no injuries on the body?" Justice Dangre asked.
Responding to the query, Hire said photographs taken during the investigation showed that Disha had sustained a head injury.
The High Court has posted the matter for further hearing on August 24.