CBI registers FIR in Disha Salian death case, names no accused following Bombay High Court order

The Central Bureau of Investigation CBI has registered an FIR in connection with the death of Disha Salian the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput without naming any accused in compliance with directions issued by the Bombay High Court officials said on MondayThe FIR was registered on September 13 and invokes provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to criminal conspiracy gang rape murder disappearance of evidence and public servants allegedly disobeying the law or framing incorrect records to protect offenders CBI officials said the agency has begun recording statements and carrying out the formal investigationFIR follows Bombay High Court orderThe case was registered following a September 2 order of the Bombay High Court on a petition filed by Salians father Satish Salian His statement was recorded by the CBI on September 11According to the FIR his statement disclosed offences punishable under IPC Section 120B criminal conspiracy read with Sections 376D gang rape 302 murder 201 causing disappearance of evidence 217 and 218 public servant disobeying law or framing an incorrect recordThe FIR states that Disha Salian 28 was working as a celebrity manager at the time of her death The alleged incident took place on the intervening night of June 8 and 9 2020 at a residential building in Mumbais Malad areaFather questioned circumstances surrounding deathAccording to her fathers statement to the CBI Salian had left her parents residence on June 4 2020 for an advertisement shoot He remained in regular contact with her until June 6 From June 7 however his calls allegedly went unanswered and her mobile phone was subsequently answered by her fianceeMalwani Police informed Salians father on June 9 that an incident had occurred following a party and later told him that his daughter had died by suicideHer father told the CBI that he began questioning the suicide theory after seeing photographs of his daughters body on June 11 He alleged that he did not see visible blood or multiple injuries in the photographs He further claimed that he was persuaded to accept that she had accidentally fallen while intoxicated and alleged that police obtained his signatures on documents without explaining their contents to himHigh court cited discrepancies in initial probeThe Bombay High Courts division bench of Justices Sarang V Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale had observed that the investigation could not continue indefinitely The court referred to glaring discrepancies in the initial investigation and criticised the local police for having treated the matter as an accidental death for yearsSalian died on June 8 2020 after falling from the 12th floor of the Malad building Six days later on June 14 2020 Rajput was found dead at his apartment in Bandra His death triggered widespread public attention and eventually led to a CBI investigationThe agency subsequently submitted a closure report in Rajputs case concluding that his death was a suicide The report remains pending before the competent courtCBI directed not to name accused at this stageWhile directing Mumbai Police to transfer all documents relating to the Salian case to the CBI the Bombay High Court specifically instructed the central agency not to name anyone as an accused at this stageNobody 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 statedSatish Salian had sought registration of an FIR against Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray The court however did not make any observations against any individual stating that the investigation was within the CBIs purview Thackeray has denied all allegations and described the petition as false and politically motivatedThe high court also said that if the CBI concludes after investigation that no case has been made out it may file an appropriate summary report The petitioner would remain free to challenge such a reportFather makes further allegations before agencyIn his statement to the CBI Satish Salian who has been running a small business selling homemade chutneys and spices since 1990 alleged that his daughter had come across a drug and child trafficking racket while working However the statement did not make clear how he had obtained information that led him to make these allegationsThe father also named senior politicians Bollywood actors and several police personnel whom he believed should be investigated in connection with his daughters deathHe cited several reports published by print and electronic media in his statement He also told the CBI that neither he nor other members of the family had ever been provided with a copy of Disha Salians postmortem reportWith inputs from PTI