NEW DELHI: As the CBI begins its investigation into the 2020 death of Disha Salian, the agency has tasked decorated officer Seema Pahuja with supervising the high-profile probe.Pahuja, currently an SP with the CBI’s special crimes unit at the agency’s headquarters in Delhi, has handled several sensitive criminal investigations during her career, including the 2024 RG Kar rape-murder case in Kolkata and the 2020 Hathras case in Uttar Pradesh.She will supervise the Disha Salian investigation and will be assisted by investigating officer deputy SP Puran Kumar and other members of the team, sources said.
RG Kar, Hathras among high-profile cases
Pahuja was part of the CBI teams that investigated two cases that drew intense national attention: the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in 2024 and the alleged gangrape and death of a young Dalit woman in Hathras in 2020.Her earlier assignments have also included the 2017 Unnao rape case and the investigation into the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Shimla.An officer who has worked with Pahuja said her work in the Shimla case, in particular, earned her recognition for the use of modern forensic tools to piece together evidence in a complex investigation.
Gold medal for investigating skills
Pahuja was awarded the gold medal for ‘best investigating officer’ in 2021 in recognition of her investigative work.Officials who have worked with her describe her as a meticulous investigator with expertise in handling complex evidence trails.She has been entrusted with cases involving sensitive allegations and intense public scrutiny during her career.She now takes charge of supervising the CBI probe into Salian’s death, a case that has remained under public scrutiny since June 2020.The CBI registered an FIR on September 13 following directions from the Bombay high court.Salian, who had worked as actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager, died after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai on June 8, 2020.The FIR names several individuals whose roles have been listed for investigation, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, Rohan Roy, actors Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi, Aaditya’s bodyguards, Rhea Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty, former police officer Sachin Vaze, former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, DCP Vishal Thakur and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.The document also names former state home minister Anil Deshmukh, several police officers, forensic officials, doctors and other individuals.
