Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s lawyer, Priyanka Khimani, who started working with his in 2019, has said that he barely knew Disha Salian, who is said to have managed him briefly. Both Sushant and Disha’s deaths were ruled suicides. They died within a week of each other, fuelling conspiracy theories.
In an interview to India Today, Priyanka said, “I never met Disha. It is absolutely bizarre and illogical. I did not have any interaction or email exchange. I remember reaching out to Sushant that your name is being dragged into it when this news broke out. This is how much we knew her. I had no interaction with her.”
Previously, Sushant’s friend and flatmate Siddharth Pithani had said that the actor was deeply distressed about being associated with Disha when news of her death first reached him. “He met her only once in his life,” Siddharth had told Zoom TV. “She was Sushant’s manager for only a very small time.” Siddharth added that Sushant kept crying the day he learned of Disha’s death. “His sister was there to take of him that time. She fed him, gave him water. His sister came over the day Rhea (Chakraborty) left. The following day this incident happened, and that affected him so much. He fainted also. His sister and me were in the same room. We all saw how badly it affected him.”
Disha’s family has called for an end to speculations around her death, and said that they trust the police on the matter. Her father confirmed that she barely knew Sushant. “They had only met once along with his manager for about an hour,” he told Mid-Day.
Sushant’s lawyer also said that she doesn’t believe in the conspiracy theories surrounding his death, because in her opinion, Sushant was the sort of person who couldn’t be influenced by external factors. She said, “When I sit back and if I have to think to myself, deep down in my gut, as heartbroken I know I am, I know it was his decision. That’s what I am inclined to believe, he was a man who made his decisions. He would change his mind frequently. The man I knew, was the man who made his decisions. I never knew he was ever influenced by external factors. He didn’t care about other’s opinions. If people knew him, these things wouldn’t be discussed in the media.”
Sushant died on June 14, at the age of 34. Several law enforcement agencies such as the Mumbai and Patna police, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Central Bureau of Investigation have been involved in investigating the case.
