Disha Salian’s Father Slaps Rs 500 Crore Defamation Notice To Aaditya Thackeray, Anil Deshmukh

New Delhi: Satish Salian, father of late Disha Salian, has sent a legal notice seeking Rs 500 crore in damages from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and NCP (SP) leader and former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh over remarks concerning his pursuit of justice in his daughter’s death case.

The notice alleges that the two leaders attempted to portray Satish Salian’s efforts to seek an investigation into his daughter’s death as being “politically motivated”. It also accuses them of making statements that allegedly damaged his integrity and credibility.

Disha Salian, 28, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from a high-rise residential building in Mumbai’s Malad area. Police initially treated the incident as an accidental death and registered an Accidental Death Report.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, for whom Salian had briefly worked as a manager, died six days later.

Satish Salian had initially stated that he did not suspect foul play. He later approached the Bombay High Court seeking registration of an FIR and a fresh investigation into the circumstances surrounding his daughter’s death. His petition sought a probe into the alleged roles of several individuals, including Aaditya Thackeray, actors Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi.

According to the legal notice, Thackeray had questioned Satish Salian’s motives and allegedly described his pursuit of justice as “politically motivated, malicious” and driven by an ulterior objective to damage his reputation. The notice terms these allegations “false, baseless, reckless and grossly defamatory”.

The notice further alleges that Thackeray falsely represented that the Central Bureau of Investigation had already investigated the Disha Salian case and given him a “clean chit”. It also refers to an alleged statement by Thackeray that Salian was being “used as a tool to harass” him, a position that the notice says was supported by Anil Deshmukh.

The legal notice also cites a statement allegedly made by Deshmukh on March 23, 2025, in which he described the Disha Salian case as a “conspiracy to defame Aaditya Thackeray”. According to the notice, the statement received widespread publicity and portrayed Satish Salian as a politically motivated litigant misusing the criminal justice system.

Satish Salian has sought an unconditional written and public apology from both leaders. The notice demands that the apology be published and broadcast across major print, television and digital platforms. It also seeks a video apology of at least three minutes to be posted on the official social media accounts of Thackeray and Deshmukh.

The legal notice comes amid a fresh development in the Disha Salian death case. The CBI has registered an FIR in connection with the case, with Aaditya Thackeray, Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi and Rhea Chakraborty among those listed as people whose roles require investigation, according to the reports. The FIR includes sections relating to murder and criminal conspiracy.

Aaditya Thackeray has denied any connection with Disha Salian. On September 16, he said on X that he had “never met” or been acquainted with her. He described the repeated linking of his name to the case as an “evidence-free” attempt at character assassination and said the official reinvestigation should proceed without what he called political distractions.

Thackeray has previously alleged that political motives were behind attempts to link him to the case. Other individuals named in the FIR have also denied involvement. The investigation is now being pursued by the CBI.

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