Mumbai: The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has asked actor Imran Khan to leave the country by October 28 following his participation in a protest called by the Tushar Gandhi-led group Hum Bharat Ke Log at August Kranti Maidan last Saturday in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s anti-CEC stir in Delhi.

While Khan, who is the nephew of actor Aamir Khan, declined to comment on the FRRO order, advocate Parvez Memon, representing the actor, said he would be moving the Bombay High Court on Friday challenging the govt’s decision. Legal experts said Khan cannot return till the order is revoked by the FRRO or stayed or set aside by the courts.

The ‘Leave India Notice’ notice issued by the FRRO to the actor on Wednesday mentions Khan as a US national, saying he contravened the provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025.

Khan was briefly detained during last Saturday’s protest before being let off. Speaking to the media moments before being detained at the protest site, he had said, “I am here as a citizen, as a person who lives in this city. I am here to see why freedom of movement is being restricted, why are people’s voices being repressed.”

The govt has invoked provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act of 2025, which replaced the pre-Independence Foreigners Act of 1946, empowering it to ask a foreigner to leave India. The sections invoked by the FRRO are Section 7 (2) (c) read with Section 29. Section 29 deals with the power to ask a foreigner to depart India for any violation of provisions that govern foreign nationals under the Act or based on any adverse report submitted by any authority.

The controversy erupted after former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya sought action against Imran Khan, saying the actor had no rights to protest challenging Indian govt’s policy because he was a foreigner. The defence also intends to question the allegation that Khan participated in the protest in the manner claimed by the complainant. “Let the police take out the CCTV footage of the area and everything will be clear,” Memon said.

Khan’s lawyers, however, contend that he did not participate in the protest. According to the defence, he was passing through Nana Chowk when the road was barricaded and media representatives approached him. The legal team plans to seek CCTV footage to establish his movements and determine whether he was an active participant in the demonstration. These are the defence’s claims and will need to be tested against evidence.

The police had registered a case against the protestors, including Khan, for illegal assembly since police had not granted them permission for the protest.

Minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam defended the FRRO’s decision. “When you enter a country, a visa is issued and certain conditions are stated with it. You cannot violate those conditions, and if any violation occurs, the relevant Act applies and a notice is issued,” he said. Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi who had called for the August Kranti Maidan protest, condemned the FRRO action.

Imran Khan, who comes from a family with deep roots in Hindi cinema, is the son of Nuzhat Khan. His maternal grandfather was filmmaker-producer Nasir Hussain, while filmmaker Mansoor Khan is his maternal uncle. Imran made his debut as a leading man with ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’ (2008), produced by Aamir Khan Productions. After staying away from films for nearly a decade, Imran had this year again begun making his way back to the screen.

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The father of Disha Salian, actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager who died off a fall from the 14th floor of a Malad building in June 2020, has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court alleging a cover-up in the probe into her death.

Salian died on June 8, 2020. Rajput died by suicide on June 14 at his Bandra home. Salian’s father Satish has claimed that the two deaths are related and the police covered-up the involvement of certain high-profile people, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray.

The petition alleges that Mumbai police suppressed key evidence early in the investigation and hastily closed the case as a suicide without properly considering forensic evidence, eyewitness accounts, and circumstantial proof.

Salian is demanding a CBI probe and custodial interrogation of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, including scientific tests such as brain mapping and lie detector tests. He asserts that former NCB director Sameer Wankhede uncovered evidence linking Rhea Chakraborty with Thackeray. The petition alleges that Aaditya, implicated in drug and child trafficking, was informed of Disha’s intent to expose the network, leading to her murder. It also accuses influential political figures, media entities, and police officials of fabricating a false narrative to protect their interests.

Salian further claims that officers from Malvani police station, along with Disha’s fiancé Rohan Rai and then-Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, pressured him into accepting the official version that dismissed his daughter’s death as an accident. His petition cites various news reports, YouTube discussions, and statements from Union Minister Narayan Rane and Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane, who have described the death as murder and hinted at further evidence.

According to the petition, a party was held at Disha’s Malad apartment on the night of June 8, 2020, attended initially by her fiancé and close friends. The gathering later escalated with the unexpected arrival of high-profile individuals and their bodyguards. The petition alleges that Disha was brutally gang-raped—restrained and violently assaulted—with eyewitness accounts and forensic inconsistencies supporting this claim, despite a rushed cremation that bypassed proper post-mortem analysis.

It further contends that she was murdered to silence her, as the perpetrators feared she would expose their crimes. The petition claims senior police officers and politicians were immediately involved in a cover-up, making calls to suppress evidence, control the media narrative, intimidate eyewitnesses, and close the case without proper investigation. It alleges that her body was moved and staged, with its condition and positioning inconsistent with a natural fall from a high-rise. Eyewitnesses claim that no blood was found at the alleged impact site or on her clothes, contradicting the theory of a fall from the 14th floor. The official case file is also said to contain doctored images falsely depicting the body in a pool of blood.

The petition highlights that mobile location records placing the accused at the scene were ignored, and digital forensic evidence—including phone records and text messages—was allegedly erased or altered to support a false suicide narrative. The police are accused of deliberately delaying the post-mortem for over 50 hours, purportedly to manipulate and destroy evidence of gang rape, resulting in a fabricated report that merely noted head trauma and multiple injuries.

It also asserts that forensic evidence disproves the suicide theory. In genuine high-rise suicides, the impact force would cause heavy bleeding, multiple fractures, and internal damage. However, the petition argues that no such injuries were found on Disha or at the impact site. Even the clothes of those who transported her to the hospital reportedly showed no traces of blood.

“The delay was clearly aimed at destroying crucial forensic evidence, particularly that of sexual assault, to shield the main accused, Aaditya. The investigating officer attempted to justify this delay by citing COVID-19 protocols, but this contradicts how the Mumbai police handled other deaths at the time. For instance, the post-mortem of Sushant Singh Rajput was conducted on the same day of his death, June 14, 2020. Yet, for a female victim with possible evidence of sexual assault, the post-mortem was delayed by more than 50 hours. This clear discrepancy exposes the dishonesty of the investigating officers,” the petition states.

The petition also alleges the involvement of actress Rhea Chakraborty in the conspiracy and calls for her custodial interrogation, including brain mapping, lie detector, and narco-analysis tests. It highlights that Rhea abruptly left Sushant’s residence on June 8, 2020—the same day Disha died—and blocked his number, effectively cutting off communication.

Eyewitnesses claim that after Disha’s death, Sushant was visibly terrified and was reportedly sleeping in his parking area due to distress. He frequently changed his SIM cards, fearing for his life. The petition states that Sushant suspected a powerful group was targeting him and considered holding a press conference to expose the truth.

The petition claims Rhea Chakraborty abruptly left Sushant Singh Rajput’s residence on June 8, 2020—the same day Aaditya Thackeray allegedly visited Disha Salian’s flat. It cites phone records showing Rhea and Aaditya were in touch that day despite their claims of not knowing each other. 

The petition alleges that Disha confided in Sushant about a crime she had witnessed—an elite party involving the sexual assault of a minor. Sushant, shaken, allegedly planned to expose it but was betrayed by Rhea. After Disha’s death, he became paranoid, changed SIM cards frequently, and even avoided sleeping in his bedroom. He reportedly told his staff he feared being killed. 

Citing former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, the petition claims he found digital evidence linking Aaditya Thackeray and other Bollywood celebrities to alleged murder site. It further alleges Wankhede was “harassed” and politically targeted for exposing high-profile drug links and digital records of Aaditya and Rhea’s interactions.

“I am currently not in the state and was unaware of this. I just found out today that such a petition has been filed. The matter is sub judice, and I will abide by the court’s directions,” Sameer Wankhede told mid-day.

“The petition is in process and has gone to the clerk of the high court. It will be listed soon. We want justice for Disha Salian’s family, and we have also included an investigative article from mid-day that highlights lapses in the forensic examination and delays in submitting samples,” said Adv Nilesh Ojha, representing Salian’s family.