Nagpur: The state on Thursday announced that it would form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of Disha Salian, manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, reports Chittaranjan Tembhekar.

Salian died on June 8, 2020 after a fall from the 14th floor of a Malad building, a week before Rajput was also found dead at his home.

Replying to a demand from MLAs of the ruling BJP Shinde Sena combine that Salian’s death be probed, deputy CM Fadnavis called upon those with clinching evidence to hand it over to police.

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Mumbai: The high-profile Disha Salian case was first raised in the House on Thursday by Bharat Gogavale, MLA of Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, the Sena faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde. He was joined by BJP legislator Nitesh Rane, Ameet Satam, Madhuri Misal and Devyani Farande.

In November this year, the Shiv Sena (UBT) had hit out at the BJP after the CBI reportedly concluded that Salian’s death was an accident. CBI sources had however then said that they had not registered any case or conducted any specific probe into her death. As part of their probe into Rajput’s death, they had said, they had conducted some inquiry as she was his talent manager, but they had not arrived at any conclusion.

Nitesh Rane sought a “narco test” on Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray in connection with the deaths of Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian based on allegations levelled by Lok Sabha MP Rahul Shewale of the Shinde faction.

Shewale had asked on Wednesday about the status of the CBI probe into Rajput’s death and the possible involvement of influential people, including a senior figure in the Maha Vikas Aghadi. He said there were “44 calls from AU to (actress) Rhea Chakraborty” and alleged the Bihar police had concluded that “AU” was “Aaditya Uddhav.”

Questioning why Thackeray's name cropped up every time the deaths of Rajput and Disha Salian were discussed, Rane said the allegations made by Shewale must be taken seriously as he was close to the Thackeray family for a long time.

A “narco test” (narcoanalysis test) must be carried out on Aaditya Thackeray so that the truth about their deaths comes out, Rane told the media outside the Vidhan Bhavan complex.

The demand to probe the Salian case came in the wake of the opposition raising the phone tapping case in the House and also the alleged use of toilets in the Nagpur MLAs’ hostel to wash utensils used to serve breakfast to legislators.

Leader of opposition Ajit Pawar objected to the decision to form an SIT in the matter, pointing out that the CBI had already concluded the case and Salian’s parents too had requested that her image should not be maligned by repeatedly raising the issue of her death in public. Hence, Pawar said, the case should not be viewed from a political angle and should not be given a political twist.

Fadnavis clarified that the Salian case had never gone to the CBI, so there was no closure report and hence an SIT can be set up.

“Mumbai police are already investigating the case. Those who have proofs can hand them over for further probe through SIT,” Fadnavis announced amid sloganeering from the opposition as well as the ruling benches.

Fadnavis also pointed out in the House that the CBI had made it clear before the court in the Rajput case that they had not investigated the Salian case.

While Shiv Sena (UBT) and some NCP leaders had earlier alleged that the BJP had targeted the Thackeray family and tried to sully their reputation, Nitesh Rane had claimed that all evidence in the case had been destroyed by the police when the Maha Vikas Aghadi was in office.

In March, Nitesh had told the state assembly that he had a pen drive containing statements of an eyewitness to what he called Disha Salian’s “murder. ” He had said in the assembly, “The pen drive has an eyewitness who tells us that a state minister was involved...Salian was raped and killed.”