Disha Salian’s father sends Rs 500 cr defamation notice to Aaditya Thackeray, others

• Satish Salian has sought Rs 500 crore in compensation from Aaditya Thackeray and Anil Deshmukh over alleged defamatory statements.

• The notice gives the two leaders seven days to retract their remarks and issue a public apology.

• Thackeray has denied any connection with Disha Salian and described attempts to link him to the case as politically motivated character assassination.

Satish Salian, the father of the late Disha Salian, has issued a legal notice seeking Rs 500 crore in compensation from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh over allegedly defamatory statements.

The notice demands the withdrawal of the disputed remarks and an unconditional public apology. Thackeray and Deshmukh have been given seven days to comply.

Disha Salian, 28, who had worked as actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager, died after falling from a high-rise residential building in Mumbai’s Malad area on 8th June 2020. Police registered an Accidental Death Report after treating the incident as an accidental death.

Rajput was found dead six days later.

Satish Salian, who had initially said he did not suspect foul play, subsequently approached the Bombay High Court seeking the registration of an FIR and a fresh investigation into his daughter’s death. His petition sought an inquiry into allegations involving several people, including Thackeray and actors Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has now taken over the investigation, six years after Disha’s death.

The legal notice alleges that Thackeray questioned Satish Salian’s motives and sought to portray his pursuit of an investigation as “politically motivated, malicious, and actuated by an ulterior object”.

It describes the alleged remarks as “false, baseless, reckless and grossly defamatory” and claims they damaged the integrity and credibility of a bereaved father seeking a lawful investigation into his daughter’s death.

The notice also alleges that representations were made on Thackeray’s behalf claiming that the CBI had already investigated the case and given him a “clean chit”.

It further claims that Thackeray portrayed Satish Salian as being “used as a tool to harass” him and that Deshmukh supported this position.

According to the notice, Deshmukh described the case on March 23, 2025, as a “conspiracy to defame Aaditya Thackeray”. Satish Salian alleges that the widely publicised statement depicted him as a politically motivated litigant misusing the criminal justice system.

He has demanded an “unconditional, unequivocal and unqualified written and public apology” from both leaders. The notice calls for the apology to be carried by major print, television and digital news platforms.

It also seeks a video apology lasting at least three minutes, to be posted on the official social media accounts of Thackeray and Deshmukh.

Thackeray on Wednesday denied having any connection with Disha, two days after the CBI named him in an FIR in the case.

“I have never met Disha Salian, nor did I have any acquaintance with her,” he said in a post on X.

He described repeated attempts to associate him with the case as a “deliberate, evidence-free attempt at character assassination” driven by political and personal motives.

Thackeray did not name anyone in his post but has previously accused the BJP-led ruling alliance in Maharashtra of dragging him into the matter. Others named in the FIR have also denied any involvement.

“Let the official re-investigation proceed without malicious distractions and character assassination for political motives,” Thackeray said.

With IANS inputs