Bombay High Court questions police over Disha Salian death investigation

The Bombay High Court questioned the police over the handling of Disha Salian's death, asking why no FIR was registered despite her father's allegations. The court also raised concerns over the post-mortem findings and posted the matter for hearing on August 24

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked what prevented the police from investigating the death of former celebrity manager Disha Salian when her father raised suspicion about the circumstances in which she died in 2020.

A bench of Justices Bharti Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande also questioned how, according to the post-mortem report, the victim had no injuries despite falling from the 14th floor.

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Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai’s Malad area. The city police subsequently registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR).

While the police, after conducting an inquiry, claimed that she died by suicide, her father, Satish Salian, filed a petition in the High Court last year, alleging that his daughter was gang-raped and murdered.

On Monday, when the plea came up for hearing before the High Court bench, it sought to know from the police why no FIR had been registered instead of treating the case as an accidental death inquiry.

“If somebody, in this case the victim’s father, raises suspicion about the circumstances in which the death occurred, what stopped the police from registering an FIR and investigating it?” the High Court asked.

Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray told the court that the case was treated as an accidental death and inquiries were conducted twice, with both concluding that it was a case of suicide.

“This was supported by the statements given by the witnesses in the case,” he said.

The bench also questioned how, according to the post-mortem report, the victim did not suffer any injuries despite falling from such a height.

“If a person falls from the 14th floor, wouldn’t there be any injuries to the body?” Justice Dangre asked.

Hiray said that, according to the photographs, there were head injuries on the victim’s body.

Satish Salian’s advocate, Nilesh Ojha, alleged that the initial photographs shown to him by the police indicated no such injuries.

“The police then fabricated these photos showing head injuries,” he claimed.

The High Court also rapped the police for not providing certain case-related documents, including the ADR, to the petitioner.

“As per the police, there is no FIR and hence no probe is going on. When only an accidental death inquiry is being conducted and the police’s conclusion is suicide, what is stopping them from giving certain innocuous documents to the petitioner?” the court asked.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on August 24.

Satish Salian has sought a CBI probe into his daughter’s death and the registration of an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray.

In the plea, he claimed that his daughter was found dead under mysterious circumstances in June 2020. He alleged that she was raped and murdered and that there was subsequently a politically orchestrated cover-up to protect certain influential persons.

Disha Salian had briefly served as manager to actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who died by suicide on June 14, 2020.