Disha Salian. (File)THE POST mortem report of Disha Salian (28), who briefly worked with Sushant Singh Rajput, and who died of suicide on the intervening night of June 8 and 9 – six days before the actor’s suicide — says her death was caused by injuries sustained due to a fall and there was no evidence of sexual assault.
The Indian Express accessed the report and detailed post mortem notes prepared by Bhagwati hospital in Borivali where Salian’s body was taken after the incident. The report says she died of “antemortem injuries” sustained due to a fall from the 12th floor where she was attending a get-together with friends that evening.
Incidentally, former Maharashtra Chief Minister M Narayan Rane, a BJP leader from Konkan and a former member of the Shiv Sena, had alleged that Salian had been “raped and murdered” and that the state government was trying to save “one of the young ministers.”
Salian, an employee of a company handling celebrity endorsements, is said to have briefly interacted with Sushant Singh Rajput.
After the actor committed suicide on June 14, social media was abuzz with speculation that the two incidents were linked and that both had been murdered. Rane echoed this claiming he had information to prove these allegations.
The post mortem reports of both Salian and Rajput have ruled out murder.
When told that the post mortem report contradicted his claim, Rane told The Indian Express: “As per the report we have seen, the places where she has sustained injuries is not caused by a fall from a building. I do not know what report you have seen.”
Salian’s post mortem report mentions there is no sexual assault. In Column 15 of the post mortem notes, under the heading “Injury to genitals/purging,” the doctor who conducted the post mortem has noted: “No injury to genitals/No purging seen.”
On July 15, the police sent a questionnaire to Bhagwati hospital specifically asking if there was any sexual assault or any evidence to indicate murder. The hospital reiterated the findings of the post mortem, that there was no indication of sexual assault or murder and that Salian died due to “six injuries” sustained due to the fall.
Disha’s father Satish Salian had, on August 5, written to Mumbai police seeking action against those he said were tarnishing his daughter’s reputation.
On reports that her body was found without clothes, the post mortem mentions “nude body” under the head External Examination. But an official from the post mortem centre said that her clothes were removed for the post mortem and that’s why the “nude body” reference. The body was clothed when it was brought to the hospital, the official said.
Questions were raised over the delay in Salian’s post mortem and the police not preserving her nail clippings or recording her post mortem.
Said an officer overseeing the probe: “Due to Covid, a swab was taken and after it tested negative for the virus on June 11, the post mortem was carried out.”
The officer said that while in cases of suspicious deaths, the police do video record the post mortem and may send nail clippings for a forensic test, in this case since the family and friends did not allege any foul play, “we did not feel the need to do so.”
The officer said police have recorded nearly 25 statements in connection with Salian’s death and should soon wrap up their investigation into the Accidental Death Report filed at the Malwani police station.
“The building has several CCTV cameras. We have gone through all and no one, apart from her four friends, is seen entering the house. We have cross-verified details of every person entering the building and everyone is accounted for,” the officer said.
In the investigation so far, police said, they have found that Salian was “upset” over two business deals she had lost.