A special CBI court on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi, 32, of charges that he abetted the suicide of 25-year-old actor Jiah Khan in 2013. Pancholi, the son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, was present in the court when special judge AS Sayyad pronounced the verdict.
Jiah, an American citizen and best known for her performance in Hindi film “Nishabd” starring Amitabh Bachchan, was found dead at her Juhu residence by her mother on June 3, 2013.
Pancholi, who was in a relationship with Khan at the time, was arrested a week later for abetment to suicide under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of a note alleged to have been left behind by Jiah Khan. Jiah’s mother Rabia Khan, however, alleged that Jiah Khan did not die by suicide – she was found hanging at home – but was murdered. Since the state police did not find anything to suggest murder, Rabia Khan moved the Bombay high court complaining that the police did not investigate her daughter’s death properly.
On July 3, 2014, the high court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the death and find out if Jiah Khan died by suicide or was killed. The high court reasoned that the Juhu police did not adequately investigate the murder angle.
CBI concluded that the actor died by suicide and decided to prosecute Sooraj Pancholi for abetment to suicide. The central agency said the note seized by the Juhu police on June 10, 2013, was written by Jiah Khan and narrated her ordeal, her intimate relationship, the physical abuse and mental and physical torture by Pancholi which led her to commit suicide.
The prosecution examined 22 witnesses including Rabia Khan, who alleged that Pancholi abused his daughter. Sooraj Panchali, on the other hand, insisted that he was wrongly prosecuted. “I truly loved Jiah and she was one of the best gifts of God to me,” Sooraj said in written submissions to the court and accused her mother of driving Jiah to suicide.
“Rabia Khan knew that she is guilty and was responsible for her daughter’s death. I believe it is not too late to investigate Rabia Khan’s role,” he added.
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