MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday denied ever meeting actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Disha Salian, terming repeated attempts to link his name to her death a “false campaign” and an effort at his character assassination.In a post on X, Thackeray said he had “never met Disha Salian” and had no acquaintance with her.He alleged that for the past six years, some people had been trying to link his name to the case for “political motives” and out of “personal enmity”, despite there being no evidence or connection.The statement comes after the CBI registered an FIR in the 2020 death of Disha Salian following a September 2 Bombay high court order directing a probe into the case.The FIR mentions Aaditya Thackeray, Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi, Rhea Chakraborty and several others among those whose roles require investigation.Disha Salian, who worked as Sushant’s manager, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai. Sushant was found dead at his Bandra residence nearly a week later.The CBI FIR calls for examination of allegations relating to the alleged creation and propagation of what it describes as a false suicide narrative, as well as alleged suppression, destruction or fabrication of evidence.It also seeks examination of the role of police and public officials in the handling of the case.The probe followed allegations by Salian’s father, Satish Salian, who had approached the Bombay high court seeking a murder investigation and alleging lapses in the handling of the case.The court had pointed to discrepancies in the investigation and ordered the CBI probe.In his post, Thackeray called for the investigation to be conducted afresh without interference or political intervention and said the inquiry should be impartial.“Allow the official machinery to conduct this inquiry afresh, without any interference, without political intervention, without character assassination, and impartially,” he said.Thackeray also said that attempts to silence him through what he described as character assassination and false propaganda would not deter his “fight” for truth and against injustice.Meanwhile, allegations made by Salian’s father’s lawyer that she had information about alleged illegal activities involving Thackeray and had shared it with Sushant have not been established by the investigation.The CBI investigation is now expected to examine documents, record statements of police personnel involved in the initial inquiry, inspect the scene and question key witnesses, besides conducting forensic and technical analysis.
