Mumbai, March 20
Maharashtra Minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane on Thursday demanded that Shiv Sena(UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray should be arrested and interrogated in the Disha Salian death case.

Disha Salian, a former manager of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput reportedly fell from the 14th floor of an apartment building on June 8, 2020, in Malad, leading to her death, an Accidental Death Report by the Mumbai Police said. Six days later, on June 14, 2020, Sushant Singh was found dead in his Bandra residence, which was initially ruled a suicide but later handed over to the CBI.

Minister Rane’s demand comes after the father of Disha Salian in a petition has alleged that his daughter was gang-raped and murdered. The petitioner also appealed to the court to register an FIR against Shiv Sena(UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray and transfer the probe to the CBI.

“This is a very simple, straightforward case. Why does Aditya Thackeray need to be saved from this? If he has no involvement, then why is he running away so much?” asked Rane. “There was a Supreme Court judgment, according to which, if anyone is charged with rape, a case has to be registered against him first. According to that rule, a case should be registered against Aditya Thackeray and he should be arrested. He should be questioned,... in fact, all those are named in this case, the same justice that is meted out to other people should be meted out to Aditya Thackeray,” he said.

“Whether it is Aditya Thackeray, Suraj Pancholi or Dino Morea, they should be investigated, if they have no hand in this case, the investigation will reveal that. If Aditya Thackeray believes that this was suicide, he has nothing to do with this case, he is being implicated, then it is very simple he should face the investigation, tell the truth, provide evidence and prove us all wrong,” he said.

Commenting on Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Sanjay Raut questioning the timing of the petition, Rane said, “During those five years, his own name (Aditya Thackeray), the son of the former Chief Minister of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Uddhav Thackeray), had come up in the case. You should hear from Disha Salian's father how much pressure he had put on them. He (Disha Salian’s father) himself had said that there was a lot of pressure on him not to say anything,” he claimed.

He also questioned, “Why did Kishori Pednekar (former mayor who has been named in the petition) go to his house then?”

Rane stated that all politicians should now step aside in this matter, a girl was gang-raped, and she was murdered. “Now she should get justice, that's all we have to say, that's our only position,” he added.

“Disha Salian's father has nothing to do with politics, he presented a stand, and he went to court. Many people are following up on this case. And now Disha Salian's father is convinced that his daughter did not commit suicide, that there was something wrong with her, that she was murdered,” said Rane and reiterated that this case should be investigated.

Arrest, interrogate Aditya Thackeray in Disha Salian death case: Maha BJP Minister