The Bombay High Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over the 2020 death of celebrity talent manager Disha Salian. The court directed Mumbai’s Malvani police to hand over case records to the CBI, instructed the federal agency to register a fresh First Information Report, and ordered investigators to formally record a statement from Salian’s father, Satish Salian.
Salian was found dead at age 28 after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai’s Malad suburb on June 8, 2020. Mumbai police had originally logged the case as an Accidental Death Report and concluded she died by suicide, but her family long disputed the finding and alleged she was sexually assaulted and murdered.
The court stopped short of ordering that any individual be named as an accused at this stage, noting that registering an FIR does not amount to a finding of guilt and that no one can be treated as a suspect without concrete supporting material. Satish Salian stated after the ruling that he had waited six years for this moment and felt some relief.