Six years after two people connected to Mumbai's film industry died within a week of each other, their cases now sit on opposite ends of the legal system. In March 2025, the CBI closed its investigation into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, ruling it a suicide with no evidence of foul play. Roughly eighteen months later, a Mumbai court ordered the CBI to open a fresh investigation into the death of Disha Salian, the talent manager who had briefly worked with Rajput — after her father spent years arguing that the original police inquiry got it wrong. Here is what has actually been established, what is still an unproven allegation, and where both cases stand as of September 2026.
Who Were Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian?
Sushant Singh Rajput was a 34-year-old actor known for films such as Kai Po Che!, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, and Chhichhore. He was found dead at his rented apartment in Bandra, Mumbai, on June 14, 2020.
Disha Salian was a 28-year-old talent and casting manager who had worked with several Bollywood names, including a brief professional stint managing Rajput. She died on June 8, 2020 — six days before Rajput — after a fall from the 14th floor of a residential building in Malad, Mumbai.
The Two Deaths, Six Days Apart: A Timeline
- June 8, 2020 Disha Salian, 28, dies after falling from the 14th floor of a building in Malad. Mumbai Police open an Accidental Death Report (ADR), the standard first step before a case is formally classified.
- June 14, 2020 Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, is found dead at his Bandra flat. The postmortem cites asphyxia as the cause of death.
- July–August 2020 Rajput's father files an FIR in Patna against Rajput's girlfriend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, alleging abetment to suicide and cheating. The Supreme Court later transfers the investigation to the CBI, while the Enforcement Directorate and Narcotics Control Bureau open parallel money-laundering and drugs probes.
- September–October 2020 The NCB arrests Rhea Chakraborty on drug-procurement charges. She spends 27 days in Mumbai's Byculla Jail before the Bombay High Court grants her bail, finding she was not part of any drug-dealing chain.
- February 2021 Mumbai Police close the Disha Salian case as a suicide, attributing it to depression linked to professional setbacks and personal financial disputes.
- December 2023 Following political pressure, Maharashtra's government sets up a fresh Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-examine the Disha Salian case.
- March 2025 The CBI files its closure report in the Sushant Singh Rajput case: death by suicide, no foul play, and a clean chit for Rhea Chakraborty and her family. The same month, Disha Salian's father, Satish Salian, petitions the Bombay High Court for a fresh probe, alleging his daughter was murdered.
- September 2025 Citing gaps in the original inquiry, the Bombay High Court orders the CBI to investigate Disha Salian's death.
- September 2026 The CBI formally begins its investigation and records statements, including her father's. Separately, the Mumbai Police SIT's own report concludes her death was a suicide and rules out foul play — meaning the two findings currently sit in tension with each other.
What the CBI Actually Found in the Sushant Singh Rajput Case
After nearly five years of investigation, the CBI's closure report — filed in a special Mumbai court in March 2025 — concluded that Rajput died by suicide and that no other person was involved in his death. The report cleared Rhea Chakraborty and her family of all allegations tied to the case. The court still had to formally accept the report, and not everyone was satisfied by the outcome, but no agency, including the CBI, has produced findings that contradict the suicide conclusion.
Why the Disha Salian Case Was Reopened
Mumbai Police's original 2021 closure report described Disha Salian's death as a suicide, pointing to depression linked to failed projects and a dispute over her finances. That finding went largely unchallenged until political pressure led Maharashtra's government to set up a fresh SIT in December 2023.
In 2025, her father, Satish Salian, escalated the matter. He filed a petition in the Bombay High Court arguing that the original inquiry was rushed and ignored forensic and eyewitness evidence, and he formally alleged that his daughter was sexually assaulted and murdered, followed by a cover-up. His complaint named several individuals connected to Mumbai's film and political world. It is important to be precise here: these are allegations made in a legal petition and a police complaint — they are not findings by any court or investigating agency, and the people named have not been charged with any crime in connection with her death.
What the Bombay High Court did rule, in September 2025, is that the earlier inquiry had procedural gaps serious enough to warrant a fresh CBI investigation. That probe is now active: the CBI has recorded statements, including her father's, at its Bandra Kurla Complex office. At the same time, the Mumbai Police SIT's own review — conducted separately — has reaffirmed the original suicide finding, which is why the case remains genuinely contested rather than resolved.
Is There an Actual Proven Link Between the Two Deaths?
The two cases are connected in ways that are documented, and in ways that remain speculative — and it matters which is which.
What's documented: Salian had a professional relationship with Rajput as his manager. Investigation records cited in multiple reports show that in the days before his own death, Rajput's internet search history included her name, alongside searches about news coverage of himself and information about mental illness.
What isn't established: The claim that the two deaths are directly linked as part of a single murder plot has not been confirmed by any court or investigating agency. The CBI's own closure report on the Rajput case found no foul play and did not identify a criminal connection to Salian's death. The "link" theory has mainly been advanced by Salian's family, their lawyer, and some political commentators — it remains an allegation under investigation, not an established fact.
Quick summary of where things stand
- Sushant Singh Rajput case: Closed by the CBI in March 2025 — ruled a suicide, no foul play.
- Disha Salian case: Mumbai Police SIT maintains it was a suicide; a separate CBI probe, ordered by the Bombay High Court in September 2025, is actively investigating her father's murder allegations as of September 2026.
- Claimed link between the two: Unproven. A professional connection and a documented search-history detail are established; a criminal link is not.
Before the Conclusion
Conclusion
Two deaths, six days apart, in 2020 — and six years on, the legal record around them is still being written. Sushant Singh Rajput's case has an official, court-filed conclusion: suicide, no foul play. Disha Salian's does not. Her case is now in an unusual position where a police SIT and a court-ordered CBI probe are, for the moment, pointing in different directions.
Until the CBI completes its fresh investigation and files its own findings, the honest answer is that this remains open. What can be said with confidence is that the widely repeated claim of a proven murder link between the two cases is not something any investigating agency has confirmed — it is an allegation currently being tested, not a verdict.
If this raises difficult feelings
This article discusses suicide and sudden death. If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available 24/7 in India through Tele-MANAS (call 14416 or 1-800-891-4416) and AASRA (+91-9820466726). You don't have to be in crisis to call — these services also help with ordinary stress, grief, and low mood.
Frequently Asked Questions
Were Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian's deaths officially connected?
No investigating agency has established a proven criminal link. They shared a professional connection (she briefly managed him), and Rajput reportedly searched her name online shortly before his own death, but the CBI's closure report on his case did not find a criminal connection between the two deaths.
What did the CBI conclude about Sushant Singh Rajput's death?
In a closure report filed in March 2025, the CBI concluded that Rajput died by suicide, that no other person was involved, and it cleared Rhea Chakraborty and her family of all related allegations.
Is the Disha Salian case still under investigation in 2026?
Yes. Following a Bombay High Court order in September 2025, the CBI opened a fresh investigation into her death and has been recording statements as of September 2026. This runs alongside an earlier Mumbai Police SIT finding that ruled out foul play.
Who was Disha Salian?
She was a 28-year-old talent and casting manager who worked with several Bollywood figures, including a brief stint managing Sushant Singh Rajput. She died on June 8, 2020, after a fall from a residential building in Malad, Mumbai.
What happened to Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case?
Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput's girlfriend, was investigated by the ED, NCB, and CBI and spent 27 days in jail on drug-related charges before being granted bail in October 2020. The CBI's 2025 closure report cleared her and her family of all allegations connected to Rajput's death.
Where do both cases stand right now?
The Sushant Singh Rajput case is formally closed, with the CBI's suicide finding filed in court. The Disha Salian case remains open and contested: a police SIT has called it a suicide, while a separate, court-ordered CBI investigation into her father's murder allegations is actively underway.