"Never Met": Aaditya Thackeray Reacts To Sushant Rajput Ex-Manager Murder FIR Naming Him - NDTV

**Aaditya Thackeray Denies Any Connection to Disha Salian, Labels FIR as “Character Assassination”**

Mumbai – Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and Youth Affairs Minister Aaditya Thackeray broke his silence on Tuesday after a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR listed him among 22 persons allegedly involved in the murder of Disha Salian, the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. In a statement to the media, Thackeray said he “never met Disha Salian” and that the FIR was an attempt at “character assassination” aimed at tarnishing his reputation ahead of upcoming state elections. He added that the investigative agency had “no substantive evidence” linking him to the case and urged the court to dismiss the allegations as baseless.

The FIR, filed in February 2024, accuses a range of individuals—from Bollywood actors such as Sooraj Pancholi and Dino Morea to social media personalities like Rhea Chakraborty—of conspiratorial involvement in Salian’s death, which was originally ruled a suicide in 2022. The CBI’s expanded probe, launched after the Supreme Court’s order for a fresh inquiry, has drawn criticism from opposition parties who argue that the investigation is being politicised. Thackeray’s party, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), has long been at odds with the ruling BJP‑led government in Maharashtra, and the FIR’s timing has intensified accusations that the central agency is being used as a tool in the state’s partisan battles.

In response to Thackeray’s remarks, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the deputy chief minister’s claims as “deflection” and insisted that the investigation will proceed without fear or favour. Meanwhile, legal experts caution that the FIR’s inclusion of public figures could complicate the probe, noting that the burden of proof lies with the investigators to demonstrate any concrete link to the alleged conspiracy. The case remains under active scrutiny by both the CBI and the Maharashtra judiciary, with further hearings scheduled for next month.