‘Uddhav asked me not to take his son’s name in press': BJP MP Narayan Rane on Disha Salian death

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Narayan Rane on Saturday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray asked him not to mention his son Aaditya's name in the press in connection with the death of Disha Salian in 2020.

“Disha Salian's father had to go to the High Court because he has not received justice until now. Her father felt he would not receive justice from the police, so he went to the High Court. Uddhav Thackeray's PA, who is now probably an MLA, called me. I was also going home at that time, and he (PA) said that Uddhav Thackeray wanted to talk to me... He (PA) asked will you talk? I asked where he was (Uddhav Thackeray) and to give him the phone,” ANI quoted Rane as saying at a presser.

“As soon as he (Uddhav Thackeray) received the phone, I said Jai Maharahstra. He (Uddhav Thackeray) asked me if I still say Jai Maharashtra, so I replied I would keep saying Jai Maharashtra till I die. Jai Maharashtra is not Matoshri's property. It is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's property," he added.

"When he was chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray called me twice during the COVID pandemic and requested me not to drag his son in the Disha Salian case," PTI quoted Rane as saying.

The former Union minister further claimed he told Thackeray that he had not named anybody and only referred to a minister in his press conference.

"Register an FIR based on the evidence gathered so far and arrest him (Aaditya)," Rane said.

Disha Salian death probe

Satish Salian, the father of Disha Salian, the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, moved the Bombay high court earlier this week seeking a fresh probe into the mysterious circumstances under which his daughter was found dead in June 2020.

The petition urges the high court to order registration of a First Information Report against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and transfer of the probe to the CBI.

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The plea alleged that Disha Salian was brutally raped and murdered, and subsequently there was a politically-orchestrated cover-up to protect certain influential persons.

The petitioner initially believed that the probe conducted by the city police was genuine, but has now learnt that it was a cover-up, it said.

Reacting to the development, Aaditya Thackeray said,"A lot of people have tried to defame me for the last five years. If the matter is in court, then we will speak in court."

(With PTI, ANI inputs)