Aaditya Thackeray Denies Defamation and Rejects Apology Demand Over Disha Salian Case

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has refused to apologise or pay compensation in response to a ₹500 crore defamation notice sent by Satish Salian, the father of late celebrity manager Disha Salian.

The Notice and Reply

Satish Salian sent the legal notice to the MLA on September 17, claiming that Thackeray had defamed him in two social media posts published in English and Marathi on X the day before. In his official reply sent through advocate Anshuman Sinha on Wednesday, Thackeray dismissed the claims as frivolous and pointed out that his posts did not even mention Satish Salian.

Political Context

Thackeray stated that his posts targeted the ongoing political use of the tragedy by actors and media sections linking his name to the case without verified evidence from the Special Investigation Team probes. He maintained that he had never met or known Disha Salian and criticized the varying statements made by her father since her death in 2020. The reply welcomed an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Background

Disha Salian died at age 28 on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 12th floor of a building in Mumbai's Malad area. Her death was followed a week later by the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whom she had briefly managed, leading to speculation connecting the two events. While Mumbai Police closed the matter as an accidental death by suicide, the CBI recently registered an FIR following a Bombay High Court order without naming any accused.