Jiah Khan death: CBI seizes 2 CDs

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has found two CDs and other evidence that could give a new twist to its probe into the June 2013 death of actor Jiah Khan, sources said on Thursday.

Khan, a twenty-five year old American citizen, who made a high-profile debut in 2007 opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd, was found hanging from the ceiling at her Juhu residence.

Mumbai Police concluded she took her own life and filed a charge sheet in a city court this year accusing her close friend Sooraj Pancholi, son of Bollywood acting couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, with abetment to suicide.

Sooraj and his parents have denied all the charges levelled against him. Despite repeated attempts, HT could not reach the family for comments.

The CBI registered a case in August to probe whether the death was a suicide or homicide after Khan’s mother approached the Bombay High Court alleging shoddy investigation by police.

“We’ve collected some vital evidence, including two CDs, which pertain to the scene of the crime that is the late actor’s Mumbai residence, and will help the investigation,” said a CBI source, refusing to divulge more details.

The CDs have been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for scientific tests and authentication of the contents, sources said. Mumbai-based advocate Dinesh Tiwari, who represents Khan’s mother Rabiya, said the CDs could be related to the deceased’s post-mortem but there was no confirmation on this from the investigating agency.

The autopsy was “not conducted according to procedures and did not record the body’s injuries,” Tiwari said. The CBI recently recorded Rabiya’s statement and is likely to soon document Sooraj’s testimony, said a source at the agency.