Sushant Singh Rajput Case Back In Focus As CBI Reopens Probe Into His Manager Disha Salian’s Death

Six years after the deaths of Disha Salian and Sushant Singh Rajput, the CBI’s fresh probe into Salian’s death has brought the events of June 2020 back into the spotlight.

Salian was a celebrity talent manager who had worked with several actors, including Rajput. She died on June 8, 2020, after falling from a high-rise building in Mumbai’s Malad area. Just six days later, on June 14, Rajput was found dead at his Bandra residence. The timing of the two deaths, along with Salian’s professional association with Rajput, fuelled years of public speculation about a possible connection between the cases.

That connection, however, has not been established as a fact. The fresh CBI investigation is formally focused on the circumstances surrounding Salian’s death.

The agency has registered an FIR following a September 2 Bombay High Court order directing a fresh probe. The court flagged discrepancies in the earlier investigation and said the circumstances warranted a more thorough examination.

Salian’s father, Satish Salian, had approached the court seeking a fresh investigation, alleging that his daughter was raped and murdered. The earlier investigation had treated her death as a suicide, while a Maharashtra Special Investigation Team later reported that it had found no evidence of foul play.

The new FIR contains allegations including murder, gang rape, criminal conspiracy and destruction or fabrication of evidence. It mentions several prominent names whose alleged roles or connections are to be examined, including Aaditya Thackeray, Rhea Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty, Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi, among others.

Rhea, who was Rajput’s partner at the time of his death, became a major figure in the investigations that followed his death. Aaditya Thackeray has also previously figured in public allegations and political controversy surrounding the Salian case.

However, being named in an FIR does not establish guilt or automatically make someone an accused. The High Court has specifically said that no person should be treated as an accused unless sufficient material emerges during the investigation.

The probe is now being supervised by CBI officer Seema Pahuja. The agency is expected to revisit police records, forensic evidence, witness statements and other material surrounding Salian’s final hours.

The investigation has effectively reopened one of the most closely watched chapters surrounding the events that preceded Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, with the CBI now tasked with determining what the evidence can actually establish.