CBI on Jiah’s death
Actor Sooraj Pancholi has been booked for abetting her suicide
The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has concluded in its chargesheet that US-born actress Jiah Khan committed suicide on June 3, 2013, following a disturbed relationship with actor Sooraj Pancholi.
“The Board of Forensic Medicine Experts has opined that the death was ‘suicidal’ in nature, which corroborated the observation and opinion of the post-mortem doctor,” the CBI said on Wednesday, after a thorough scientific examination of the documents and material evidence in the case.
Moreover, the forensic statement analysis of the suicide note written by Khan stated that the unsigned three-page letter “allegedly represents her mental status genuinely, and the circumstance and reasons behind her suicide,” the CBI said.
Pancholi, the son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, has been booked under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for abetting the suicide while murder charges have been ruled out. Emphasising the charge against Pancholi, the CBI said: “The wilful conduct of the accused, narrated in the note of Nafisa Rizvi, alias Jiah Khan, and her intimate relationship, physical abuse, mental and physical torture by Sooraj, which she experienced, allegedly led the deceased to commit suicide.” Khan, 25, and Pancholi met in 2012. In a disclaimer of sorts, CBI said its findings were based on investigations done and evidence collected by it. Under Indian law, the accused is presumed innocent until his guilt is established after a fair trial.