'Politically motivated': Uddhav Thackeray denies link to Disha Salian case, alleges ‘character assassination’

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said he would take legal action if the "character assassination" campaign targeting his family over the 2020 Disha Salian death case did not stop.

The former Maharashtra Chief Minister spoke on the issue days after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe into Salian's death in response to her father's petition. The Central agency subsequently registered a case without naming any accused.

"We have no connection with this case. Aaditya (Thackeray) has also said so. This issue is not merely about me. Such character assasination can take place with you people too," Thackeray said, replying to reporters' questions here.

"If such allegations are made continuously, how long one should tolerate it? I am wondering why the names of Modi and Trump are absent in this case," he said on a sarcastic note.

Salian's death was an unfortunate incident but his family had no connection with it, Thackeray reiterated.

"It is politically motivated. We were quiet because an SIT (Special Investigation Team) was probing the case. Those who want to investigate, they can keep investigating. But enough of this pointless character assasination, or else we will initiate legal steps,'' the Sena (UBT) chief said.

On Wednesday, his son and MLA Aaditya Thackeray had claimed that he had never met Disha Salian.

"I have never met or known Disha Salian. Linking my name to this tragic case is a deliberate, evidence-free attempt of character assassination by a few individuals with clear political and personal motives, for almost six years," Aaditya said in a post on X.

Salian, 28, former manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 12th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area.

Police claimed that it was a case of suicide. A week later, Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14, 2020, triggering speculation about a possible link between the two deaths.

On September 2, the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe into Salian's death while pulling up the Mumbai Police for failing to register an FIR for six years, observing that its investigation raises more questions than answers.