Disha Salian death case: Uddhav Thackeray takes a swipe at CBI; asks why the names of Modi and Trump are absent

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, on Thursday, took a swipe over allegations linking his family to the Disha Salian death case, asking why the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump were "absent" from the case.

The former Maharashtra chief minister also warned that he would take legal action if what he described as a "character assassination" campaign against his family over the 2020 death continued.

Thackeray's remarks came days after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe into Salian's death on a petition filed by her father. The central agency subsequently registered a case without naming any accused.

"We have no connection with this case. Aaditya (Thackeray) has also said so. This issue is not merely about me. Such character assassination can take place with you people too," Thackeray told reporters, according to news agency PTI.

Questioning how long his family should tolerate the allegations, Thackeray said, "If such allegations are made continuously, how long one should tolerate it? I am wondering why the names of Modi and Trump are absent in this case."

Thackeray reiterated that Salian's death was an unfortunate incident but maintained that his family had no connection with it.

He alleged that the controversy was "politically motivated" and said his party had remained quiet because a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was probing the case.

"Those who want to investigate, they can keep investigating. But enough of this pointless character assassination, or else we will initiate legal steps," the Sena (UBT) chief said.

A day earlier, Thackeray's son and MLA Aaditya Thackeray had also rejected any connection with Salian and claimed that he had never met her. "I have never met or known Disha Salian. Linking my name to this tragic case is a deliberate, evidence-free attempt of character assassination by a few individuals with clear political and personal motives, for almost six years," Aaditya said in a post on X.

Salian, 28, a former manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 12th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area.

Police claimed that it was a case of suicide. A week later, Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14, 2020, leading to speculation about a possible connection between the two deaths.

On September 2, the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe into Salian's death and pulled up the Mumbai Police for failing to register an FIR for six years, observing that its investigation raised more questions than answers.