Disha Salian Case: Uddhav Threatens Legal Action Over ‘Character Assassination’

Mumbai: A day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray denied links with the Disha Salian death case, his father and party chief Uddhav Thackeray has threatened to take legal action if the ‘character assassination’ campaign targeting his family over the case continued. Meanwhile, Disha’s father Satish Salian has sent Rs 500 crore defamation notice to Aaditya and former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh from NCP (SP) for attempting to portray his ‘fight for justice’ as politically motivated.

The former Maharashtra chief minister said Disha’s death was an unfortunate incident and reiterated that his family had no connection with it. He said the CBI must not do ‘character assassination’ and warned of legal action. “We have no connection with this case. Aaditya (Thackeray) has also said so. Conduct your probe but do not indulge in character assassination. We will be forced to take legal action if character assassination did not stop,” Uddhav said in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Thackeray’s remarks came days after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe into Disha’s death on a plea by her father Satish Salian. The Central agency has since registered a case without naming any accused.

“If such allegations are made continuously, how long should one tolerate it? I am wondering why the names of Modi and Trump are absent in this case,” Uddhav said sarcastically.

Disha, who worked as actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager, was found dead on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai. Sushant himself was found dead at his Bandra flat a week later.

Claiming that he never met Disha, Aaditya too has alleged of his character assassination in the case. “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,” he said in his X post on Thursday.

Satish’s defamation notice states that these claims are “false, baseless, reckless and grossly defamatory.” “The allegations are false, baseless, reckless and grossly defamatory, having been made without any credible material or proof and solely with a view to further your ulterior and improper motives. The said allegations amount to a direct and serious imputation upon the integrity, credibility, honesty and bona fides of my client, by portraying a bereaved father, who was merely seeking a lawful investigation into the alleged gang rape and murder of his daughter, as a person abusing the judicial process for an improper, malicious and politically motivated purpose,” said the notice sent by Satish’s counsel.