The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Maharashtra unit president Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday promised that a mega-expose on March 7 would resolve the ‘mystery’ surrounding the death of Disha Salian, said to be the manager of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Salian’s parents hit out at politicians who were trying to malign the deceased by questioning the circumstances surrounding her death
Mr. Patil, along with MLA Nitesh Rane, on Tuesday claimed that “fresh revelations” would clear up the air behind the death of Salian, who had died on June 8, 2020 after falling off of the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai’s Malad area. Six days later, on June 14, Rajput was found hanging in his Bandra home.
Speaking in Kolhapur, Mr. Patil said: “Everything [regarding the circumstances of Salian’s death] will be clear on March 7. All the evidence will be revealed as to who are the people involved and who will have to go to jail henceforth.”
The BJP State chief’s sensational pronouncement hinted that the ruling Shiv Sena could be in a spot following the so-called ‘revelations’ proposed next month.
Earlier, Union Minister Narayan Rane and his son Nitesh Rane had questioned the “suspicious circumstances” surrounding the deaths of both Salian and Rajput while casting aspersions on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government regarding their deaths.
Last week, the elder Mr. Rane, without submitting any proofs, had claimed in a press conference in Mumbai that both Rajput and Salian were apparently “murdered” while alleging that Salian was “raped”. Mr. Rane implied that Salian was allegedly “eliminated” as she knew some ‘secrets’.
Meanwhile, Salian’s parents made an emotional public plea to be “left alone” while hitting out at politicians for exploiting their daughter’s death for political capital. They further clarified that Salian was not Rajput’s manager she had apparently met him only once for some costume trials.
“I have lost my only daughter… These politicians are defaming us. They are dragging my daughter’s name in their politics. This should stop. Let us live peacefully,” said Vasanti Salian, Salian’s mother.
Ms. Vasanti has submitted a complaint to Mumbai Mayor and Shiv Sena leader Kishori Pednekar requesting that the Salian family should not be harassed or defamed.
“Please spare us... We are trying to emerge from the tragedy of our daughter’s death. Don’t keep raking it up and politicising it... If this doesn’t stop, we may be forced to do something drastic. Only the politicians will be responsible for this,” said Satish Salian, Salian’s father.
Debunking claims that their daughter was murdered, the parents said that they were satisfied with the probe conducted by the Mumbai police. Last year, the Mumbai police had closed the probe into Salian’s death by stating that no evidence of any foul play had emerged in the case while reporting that there was no connection between her death and that of Rajput.
“Our statements have been recorded multiple times by the police and other authorities… the police know what happened on that day. She went to celebrate her birthday with her childhood friends at the time of the incident. She was stressed after one of her business deals was cancelled…The claims of political leaders that she was murdered are false and incorrect,” said Ms. Vasanti, accusing the media and some politicians of conveying misleading information on the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death.
Ms. Pednekar and members of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) had visited the Salian family on Tuesday.
Slamming the BJP and Mr. Rane and his son, the Mumbai Mayor said that their statements were causing “mental agony” to Salian’s parents.
“I urge everyone to keep politics aside and don’t drag the Salian family into dirty politics… Salian’s parents told me that she came from a middle-class background. She was just coming into the limelight. She was a sensitive girl. They said that she took the extreme step because one of her business deals had failed,” Ms. Pednekar said.
The Mayor further said that such was the despondency exhibited by Salian’s parents that they had threatened to take the extreme step if they continued to be mentally harassed in this fashion.
“They are left with no hope. They are living for each other. While speaking to us, they became so emotional that they said they will take the extreme step and mentioned the names of those [politicians] responsible… I urge all to stop politicising this issue any more,” said Ms. Pednekar.
