Mystery Woman Enters Death Probe Of Sushant Singh's Ex-Manager Disha Salian

An unidentified woman has emerged as a missing link in the murder case registered in the death of Disha Salian, former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, officials involved with the investigation have told NDTV. The woman was among the three people who brought Disha Salian to Mumbai's Shatabdi Hospital on the night of June 8, 2020, as per a statement recorded from a police constable on duty at the hospital. While the two men among the three persons have been identified, other accounts on record do not mention a woman being there.

The detail has surfaced days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR in the case.

The CBI registered the FIR on Monday under sections for murder and related offences, officials said. The FIR lists Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, actors Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi and Rhea Chakraborty, and the doctors and other medical staff among "people whose roles require investigation". Aaditya Thackeray has denied any link, as have others.

Who Took Salian To Hospital?

Constable Santosh Kachirat Gungune's statement, recorded on June 15, 2020, cited information he received from a hospital doctor that Salian was brought in by "two men and a woman".

Salian's fiancé Rohan Rai and others connected with the case have named Salian's friends Himanshu Shikhare and Indraneel Vaidya as the people who took her to the hospital. Salian died after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area. She was taken to Shatabdi Hospital, where she was declared dead. It's not clear if police have secured CCTV footage from the hospital's entrance, parking, or emergency areas.

In 2020, Mumbai Police denied any link between Salian's death and Rajput's. Rajput was found dead at his Bandra flat days after Salian died.

What FIR States

"The then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, father of Aaditya Thackeray, and others played a significant role in the conspiracy and subsequent cover-up," the CBI FIR states. "The concerned public servants and police officers are also liable to be investigated for destruction or suppression of case papers, files and other public records, fabrication of official records, and misuse of public funds, manpower and police machinery for unlawful purposes and for shielding the offenders," it adds.

Before registering the FIR, the agency wrote to Mumbai Police seeking all documents and records related to Salian's death.

What Disha's Father Alleges

The Bombay High Court ordered the CBI probe on September 2. It was acting on a petition by Salian's father, Satish Salian, who alleged lapses by Mumbai Police in the investigation.

The court pulled up the police for failing to register an FIR for six years. It said the investigation "raises more questions than answers" and pointed to "glaring discrepancies".

The court also noted that Salian's family had not been given copies of the post-mortem report and the Accidental Death Report (ADR) six years after her death. Police had registered an ADR and, after an inquiry, said Salian died by suicide. Satish Salian filed a petition in the High Court last year alleging that his daughter was murdered.

Last week, Satish Salian recorded his statement before the CBI. In it, he alleged that several people, including Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray, played a significant role in an alleged conspiracy and cover-up.