Disha Salian's father's notice to Aaditya Thackeray a publicity bid: Team Uddhav

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the death of celebrity manager Disha Salian was unfortunate, but described her father Satish Salian's attempt to hand over a defamation notice to Aaditya Thackeray as a bid for publicity.

He said his party was pained by Disha Salian's death and referred to the ongoing CBI probe, saying court directions should be followed.

Raut's remarks came a day after Satish Salian visited Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's residence, Matoshree, to deliver a Rs 500-crore defamation notice to his son Aaditya Thackeray. The dispute has unfolded alongside the recent CBI FIR in the 2020 death case of Disha Salian.

Speaking to reporters, Raut said, "It was an unfortunate incident. It is the misfortune of that girl that her father created a scene. That's not pain."

He also said, "It is very cheap the way you came to Matoshri for publicity." Raut claimed the Sena (UBT) knew who was behind the episode and said it was happening because of "some drunkard with a Nepal connection", without elaborating.

Referring to the investigation, Raut said the court had issued certain instructions and those should be followed. He had earlier claimed that Satish Salian was being "controlled" by somebody.

On Saturday, Satish Salian alleged that Aaditya Thackeray had defamed him. Earlier this week, Aaditya Thackeray had categorically said he had no connection with Disha Salian's death case and had never met her.

On Thursday, Uddhav Thackeray warned that he would take legal action if the "character assassination" campaign targeting his family did not stop.

Disha Salian, 28, who had briefly worked as actor Sushant Singh Rajput's manager, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 12th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area. A week later, Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14, 2020, leading to speculation about a possible link between the two deaths.

Mumbai Police had registered an accidental death report and later said, after an inquiry, that Disha Salian died by suicide.

The CBI recently registered an FIR in connection with Disha Salian's death after the Bombay High Court handed the case to the central agency with a clear instruction not to name anyone as an accused.

On September 2, the High Court ordered a CBI probe, pulled up Mumbai Police for not registering an FIR for six years, and observed that its investigation "raises more questions than answers".