The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR into the death of celebrity manager Disha Salian, days after the Bombay High Court ordered the central agency to take over the probe.
A CBI official confirmed the development to Hindustan Times on Monday, saying, "The FIR in the Disha Salian case has been registered as per the Bombay high court's orders." The official did not disclose details about the sections or the persons named in the FIR.
The FIR was registered after Salian's father, Satish Salian, gave his statement to the CBI at its Mumbai office in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) 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.” Salian said after the statement was recorded. On Monday, he confirmed that he had learnt about the FIR being registered.
FIR based on father's allegations
According to the FIR accessed by HT, no person has been formally named as an accused. The high court had also clarified in its September 2 order that "nobody shall be treated as an accused unless, in the opinion of the IO, there are sufficient grounds to raise reasonable suspicion against them”.
The FIR includes provisions relating to suspected criminal conspiracy, gang rape, murder, destruction or concealment of evidence and alleged misconduct by public servants.
Salian's lawyer Nilesh Ojha had claimed that his statement contained information beyond what was submitted before the high court. “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,” he had said.
Several names mentioned for investigation
The FIR lists several people whose alleged roles, according to Satish Salian's complaint, require investigation. They include Aaditya Thackeray, Disha's then fiancé Rohan Roy, actors Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi, Rhea Chakraborty, her brother, former police officer Sachin Vaze, former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and former home minister Anil Deshmukh, among others.
The FIR also refers to alleged roles of police officers, medical personnel, forensic officials and others involved in the earlier inquiry.
CBI flags questions over mobile phone
The FIR has raised what it calls "extraordinary contradictions" concerning Salian's mobile phone.
It alleges that the phone was shown as seized on June 9, 2020, but was later reported to have remained active. The complaint further alleges that the device and its data were accessed, deleted or tampered with to suppress evidence and identify people who may have information about the case.
Salian, 24, died after falling from a 12th-floor flat in Malad on June 9, 2020. The initial police inquiry and a state-appointed SIT had concluded that there was no foul play. Salian's father later approached the high court seeking an independent investigation, alleging that his daughter had been raped and murdered.
The high court subsequently ordered the CBI probe, citing shortcomings and discrepancies in the earlier inquiry.