Mumbai | BJP leader Narayan Rane on Saturday claimed the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had called him twice and "requested" not to drag his son Aaditya Thackeray in the Disha Salian death case.

Addressing media, Rane demanded that the police register an FIR and arrest the former minister (read Aaditya Thackeray).

"When he was chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray called me twice during the COVID pandemic and requested me not to drag his son in the Disha Salian case," the BJP MP claimed.

The former Union minister further claimed he told Thackeray that he had not named anybody and only referred to a minister in his press conference.

"Register an FIR based on the evidence gathered so far and arrest him (Aaditya)," Rane said.

Rane and Thackeray, both former chief ministers, are bitter rivals.

Uddhav Thackeray had rubbished the claim and said his son Aaditya was not even remotely connected to the case. Aaditya too said the charges were an attempt to malign him and he would answer them in court.

The Salian case resurfaced after her father Satish Salian said he would approach the Bombay High Court seeking a fresh probe into the mysterious circumstances under which the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in June 2020.

Satish Salian has demanded the registration of a First Information Report against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and the transfer of the probe to the CBI.

Rane claimed that Rajput was murdered.