Pancholi faces abetment charges in Jiah Khan suicide
Mumbai
January 31, 2018
The trial in actress Jiah Khan's suicide is expected to begin
in mid February after a Mumbai court framed charges against her boyfriend and
Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi for abetting the 2013 death.
The trial
will happen nearly five years after the 25-year old Jiah was found hanging in
the bedroom of her flat in Juhu on June 3, 2013 by her mother Rabia Khan.
Shortly after that, Sooraj was arrested and charged with abetment following
complaints by her family and others. He was later released on bail.
Sessions Judge K.D. Shirbhate on Tuesday framed the charge of abetment to
suicide against Sooraj, who was present in the court. It attracts a maximum jail
term of 10 years.
Earlier, Mumbai Police had filed a 450-page chargesheet
in January 2014.
However, in October 2013, following a plea in the Bombay
High Court by Rabia Khan, alleging Jiah's murder, the case was transferred to
the CBI which filed its chargesheet in December 2015 but ruled out murder.
The CBI said a three-page note penned by Jiah, earlier recovered by police
on June 10, 2013, gave details of her intimate relationship with Sooraj, the
physical abuse as well as the mental and physical tortures allegedly by him
which drove her to suicide.
Though the letter was not signed by Jiah nor
addressed to Sooraj, the CBI said it established that he had "ruined" her life
and linked him to the suicide. The agency said he had "hidden facts and
fabricated information during his interrogation".
The CBI chargesheet
dwells at length on a painful abortion Jiah underwent in her fourth week of
pregnancy in January 2013 -- which she mentioned in her three-page note.
The US-born Jiah was known for playing significant roles in films like
"Nishabd", "Ghajini" and "Housefull" with top actors like Amitabh Bachchan,
Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and others.
Sooraj, who was launched in the 2015
Bollywood film "Hero", is the son of veteran Bollywood actors Aditya Pancholi
and Zarina Wahab.
Mumbai
January 31, 2018
The trial in actress Jiah Khan's suicide is expected to begin
in mid February after a Mumbai court framed charges against her boyfriend and
Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi for abetting the 2013 death.
The trial
will happen nearly five years after the 25-year old Jiah was found hanging in
the bedroom of her flat in Juhu on June 3, 2013 by her mother Rabia Khan.
Shortly after that, Sooraj was arrested and charged with abetment following
complaints by her family and others. He was later released on bail.
Sessions Judge K.D. Shirbhate on Tuesday framed the charge of abetment to
suicide against Sooraj, who was present in the court. It attracts a maximum jail
term of 10 years.
Earlier, Mumbai Police had filed a 450-page chargesheet
in January 2014.
However, in October 2013, following a plea in the Bombay
High Court by Rabia Khan, alleging Jiah's murder, the case was transferred to
the CBI which filed its chargesheet in December 2015 but ruled out murder.
The CBI said a three-page note penned by Jiah, earlier recovered by police
on June 10, 2013, gave details of her intimate relationship with Sooraj, the
physical abuse as well as the mental and physical tortures allegedly by him
which drove her to suicide.
Though the letter was not signed by Jiah nor
addressed to Sooraj, the CBI said it established that he had "ruined" her life
and linked him to the suicide. The agency said he had "hidden facts and
fabricated information during his interrogation".
The CBI chargesheet
dwells at length on a painful abortion Jiah underwent in her fourth week of
pregnancy in January 2013 -- which she mentioned in her three-page note.
The US-born Jiah was known for playing significant roles in films like
"Nishabd", "Ghajini" and "Housefull" with top actors like Amitabh Bachchan,
Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and others.
Sooraj, who was launched in the 2015
Bollywood film "Hero", is the son of veteran Bollywood actors Aditya Pancholi
and Zarina Wahab.
Tags: Sooraj PancholiAmitabh BachchanAamir KhanAkshay KumarAditya PancholiZarina WahabHero