Disha Salian death: Bombay HC orders CBI probe; Mumbai Police told to hand over case papers

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered a CBI probe into the death of former celebrity manager Disha Salian after her father raised suspicions about the circumstances surrounding her death in 2020A bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsle directed the CBI to register an FIR and record the statement of Salianrsquos father Satish Salian However the court clarified that no person should be treated as an accused unless sufficient material emerges against them during the investigation reported PTIMumbai Police asked to hand over case papersThe court directed the Mumbai Police to hand over all case papers related to the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI forthwithldquoIn case the investigation reveals that no case is made out then the CBI shall file the appropriate summary report before the court concernedrdquo the bench said PTI reportedThe court also said Satish Salian would be at liberty to challenge the report if he was dissatisfied with the findingsDisha Salian died in June 2020Disha Salian died on June 8 2020 after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbairsquos Malad area The Mumbai Police subsequently registered an Accidental Death Report ADRFollowing an inquiry the police concluded that Salianrsquos death was a case of suicide Her father however approached the Bombay High Court last year alleging that his daughter had been gangraped and murderedFather sought CBI probe FIR against Aaditya ThackeraySalianrsquos advocate Nilesh Ojha had raised doubts over the police investigation into the caseSatish Salian sought a CBI probe into his daughterrsquos death and an FIR against Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray reported PTIIn his petition he claimed that his daughter had died under mysterious circumstances in June 2020 He alleged that she was raped and murdered and that a politically orchestrated coverup was subsequently carried out to protect certain influential personsBombay HC has raised questions over probe says lawyerEarlier on August 28 Advocate Nilesh Ojha representing Disha Salians father Satish Salian said that the Mumbai court raised several questions about the police investigation into her deathSpeaking to reporters after arguments were heard over two days Ojha said the court had examined the documents and procedures followed by the police and questioned their legal basisAccording to the advocate the complaint before the court concerned allegations of gang rape and murder rather than an accidental deathOjha argued that the police could not investigate allegations of murder and gang rape under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure CrPC which deals with inquiries into certain unnatural or suspicious deathsHe said the court questioned how the investigation had been conducted under the provision and referred to a Supreme Court judgment while considering the matterWith PTI inputs