THE Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered a CBI probe into the death of Disha Salian, former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and pulled up the city police for not registering an FIR for six years, saying their investigation “raises more questions than answers”. A case investigation cannot go on for an inordinately long time, and the central agency probe was necessary in this case, a bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale said. The bench criticised the police for treating it only as an accidental death for six years and noted “glaring discrepancies” in their investigation. Salian’s father had raised suspicion about the circumstances in which she died in 2020, and approached the HC.

 

“In the present case, the investigation went on for about six years. The investigation carried out by the police raises more questions than it answers. Therefore, an investigation by the CBI is necessary in this case,” the HC said. The High Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR and record the statement of the deceased’s father, Satish Salian, but clarified that no person shall be treated as an accused until and unless there is sufficient material gathered against them during the probe. While Satish Salian sought an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, the HC refrained from making remarks against any individual, noting it was up to the central agency to investigate the case.