Disha Salian case: Late celebrity manager’s father sends Rs 500-crore defamation notice to Aaditya Thackeray, Anil Deshmukh

Satish Salian father of late celebrity manager Disha Salian has sent a Rs 500crore defamation notice to Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh seeking an apology retraction of their statements and compensation news agency IANS reportedThe legal notice sent amid the ongoing investigation into Disha Salians death objects to statements allegedly made by Thackeray and Deshmukh about Satish Salians pursuit of a fresh investigation into his daughters death The two leaders have been given seven days to comply with the demandsDisha Salian 28 who worked as actor Sushant Singh Rajputs manager died on June 8 2020 after falling from a highrise residential building in Mumbais Malad area The police treated the incident as an accidental death and registered an Accidental Death Report ADR Six days later Sushant Singh Rajput diedDishas father who had initially said that he did not suspect a criminal angle later approached the Bombay High Court seeking registration of an FIR and a fresh investigation His petition sought an investigation into allegations involving several individuals including Aaditya Thackeray Dino Morea and Sooraj PancholiSix years later the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI has taken over the probe The FIR does not name anyone as an accused at this stageThe CBI has said individuals would be treated as accused only if evidence of their involvement emerges during the investigationSatish Salian notice accuses Thackeray Deshmukh of defamatory statementsThe Rs 500 crore legal notice accuses Aaditya Thackeray of questioning Satish Salians motives and attempting to portray his pursuit of justice as ldquopolitically motivated malicious and actuated by an ulterior objectrdquo aimed at damaging his reputationldquoThe aforesaid 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 Satish Salian 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 purposerdquo the legal notice readsThe notice also accuses Thackeray of ldquofalsely representing that the CBI had already investigated the Disha Salian caserdquo and given him a ldquoclean chitrdquoldquoMore seriously a categorical representation was made on your behalf that the CBI had already investigated the Disha Salian case and had given you a lsquoclean chitrsquo This alleged prior investigation was relied upon to oppose my clients prayer for an independent CBI investigation and to further portray his proceedings as unnecessary frivolous and motivatedrdquo the notice statesAccording to the notice Thackeray allegedly claimed that Satish Salian was being ldquoused as a tool to harassrdquo him a claim that Deshmukh allegedly supportedThe notice states that on March 23 2025 Deshmukh said that the Disha Salian case was a ldquoconspiracy to defame Aaditya Thackerayrdquo It further alleges that the statement received ldquowidespread publicityrdquo and portrayed Satish Salian as a ldquodishonest politically motivated and malicious litigant misusing the criminal justice systemrdquoSatish Salian seeks public apology as Thackeray denies link to Disha SalianSatish Salian has demanded an ldquounconditional unequivocal and unqualified written and public apologyrdquo He has also sought that the apology be published and broadcast across major print television and digital media platformsThe notice further demands that the video apology be at least three minutes long and be posted on the two leaders official social media accountsAaditya Thackeray on Wednesday denied having any link with Disha Salian two days after the CBI FIR listed him among those whose roles require investigationldquoI have never met Disha Salian nor did I have any acquaintance with herrdquo Thackeray said in a post on X adding that he wanted to ldquocut through the noise and talk facts once againrdquoHe further said ldquoLinking my name to this tragic case constantly is a deliberate evidencefree attempt at character assassination by a few individuals with clear political and personal motives for almost 6 yearsrdquoThackeray did not name anyone in the post However he has previously accused the ruling BJPled alliance of dragging his name into the matter Others named in the FIR have also denied any roleldquoLet the official reinvestigation proceed without malicious distractions and character assassination for political motivesrdquo Thackeray addedWith IANS inputs