Mumbai: The controversy surrounding the death of Disha Salian has sparked a political uproar in the Maharashtra Assembly, with ruling party members demanding the arrest of former Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) minister Aaditya Thackeray.
Thackeray fired back at his critics, accusing them of attempting to tarnish his image. “Attempts have been made for the last five years to defame me. We will present our case and respond to these allegations in court,” he asserted.
Ameet Satam, a BJP MLA, raised the issue in the lower house, highlighting that the police had initially ruled Disha’s death a suicide. However, no further action has been taken despite the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in December 2022.
Satam alleged that Disha’s father believes his daughter was gang-raped and murdered and that the previous MVA government had suppressed the case.
As tensions escalated, ruling alliance MLAs stormed into the Well of the House, prompting Speaker Rahul Narwekar to adjourn the session for ten minutes. After the house reconvened, minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam confirmed that the SIT probe was ongoing and assured that the government would act based on court directives.
The issue also sparked heated debates in the Legislative Council. Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders objected to raising the matter, calling it politically motivated. UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray said, “I was amazed at how this issue was not raised in the last two assembly sessions. Every time, the Salian murder issue is raised in the assembly, the pyres of farmers are burning in Maharashtra. Who is responsible for those suicides?”
Opposition leader Ambadas Danve argued that if the government wanted to investigate, it should also probe the suspicious death of Pooja Chavan in 2021, which had led to the resignation of then MVA minister Sanjay Rathod.
Anil Parab of Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed that the case against Aaditya Thackeray had been ongoing for over a year and that the fresh petition filed by Disha’s father was identical to earlier ones. “The CBI has already given Thackeray a clean chit. How can a sub-judice matter be discussed in the House?” Parab questioned.
