Jiah Khan death: Shocking twists and turns in the case

Jiah Khan

In a shocking twist to the Jiah Khan case, a British forensic expert has stated in his report that the Bollywood actor's hanging was staged. A look at other significant developments in the case.

Jiah Khan's last letter -- 'I aborted our baby...': A few days after the actress' death, Jiah's mother submitted a letter to the police supposedly written by her late daughter. It read as follows. "I don't know how to say this to you but I might as well now as I have nothing to lose. I have already lost everything, If you are reading this I might have already left or about to leave. I am broken inside. You might not know this but you have affected me deeply to a point where I have lost myself loving you. Yet you tortured me every day. (Read full letter here)

Rocky relationship, fading career drove Jiah to suicide, say cops: Post her death, Jiah's friends revealed to cops that she was suspicious that Sooraj was having a fling with other girls. She was under depression, and had been splurging on her lifestyle. Rabiya, in her statement to the police, said that the actress was depressed after having been rejected at an audition in Hyderabad. She hadn't got any work in the film industry in nearly two years. She was even thinking of pursuing interior designing, since her film career graph was taking a plunge. The Hyderabad fiasco was really hard on her.

Sooraj broke down upon hearing of Jiah Khan's death: Childhood friend: Among the 39 witnesses listed by the CBI in the chargesheet against Sooraj Pancholi is his childhood friend, Karan Joshi (22), who said the two of them were together when Sooraj learnt of his girlfriend, Jiah Khan's death. Karan told the police that when they reached Jiah's home, they headed to the living room, where Aditya told Sooraj that Jiah had been found hanging. "Immediately, Suraj broke down." (Read full account here)

Zarina Wahab and Sooraj Pancholi

Zarina Wahab: They were in love, why would he ever rape her? In an interview to mid-day in June 2013, Zarina said, "I knew they were good friends and after I had read about the two somewhere, I simply asked him. He was initially shy but later told me about their relationship. Sooraj doesn't lie to me and we share a very close bond. When Aditya and I got to know about their relationship, we acted like normal parents would. There is no fuss about loving someone. These days, the youngsters are mature and they don't like parents interfering too much in their personal life. To fall in love is not a crime. But I had never met Jiah." (Read full interview here)

'There were pieces of glass in Jiah's hand': Devraj Chaudhari, alias Deva, a domestic help at the Pancholi household has, his statement to the CBI, spoke about the regular fights between the couple, as also the several bouquets that Sooraj Pancholi would send to Jiah Khan via him. (Full Details)

Jiah and Sooraj

CBI charges Sooraj Pancholi with abetment of suicide: The Central Bureau of Investigation charged actor Sooraj Pancholi with abetment of the alleged suicide of actress Jiah Khan, according to the charge sheet filed by the agency in December 2015. Sooraj, said a top CBI official, refused repeated calls of the agency to undergo "some forensic tests relating to the case." mid-day was the first to report on October 25 that the CBI will be charging Sooraj with abetment and not homicide.

Sooraj Pancholi: I miss Jiah every day: "My name will always be associated with her and I have no guilt for that. I am happy that something at least stays with me. I am sad that she ended her life. But at least her name is with me and I have no problems with it," Sooraj told PTI in an interview in August 2015. (Read full interview here)

Pancholis file Rs 100-cr defamation suit against Jiah Khan's mother: In July 2014, actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against Rabiya Khan, the mother of the deceased. The suit referred to 18 tweets posted by Rabiya between March 4 and May 1, which it said were defamatory to the Pancholis. It said in these 18 tweets, Rabiya had allegedly made personal comments about the three members of Pancholi family. The suit said that both Aditya and Zarina had been associated with the film industry for 30 years and had earned goodwill in the society. However, due to attack on them by Rabiya in her tweets, the family was defamed and several fans, relatives and friends are "shocked and disturbed."

Jiah and Rabiya

Rabiya's sting reveals discrepancies in police statements: Let down by the police probe in her actor-daughter's death case, Rabiya Khan personally questioned several key witnesses in the case, and recorded the conversations. Her private investigation conducted during January-February 2014 bared many inconsistencies in the witnesses' statements. (More Details)

‘We asked Jiah to cut off ties with Sooraj': Speaking about Jiah-Sooraj relationship, Rabiya said in June 2013, "I told Jiah he (Sooraj) is not for you, we asked her to cut off ties with the guy. We decided to do things what she likes and tried to keep her busy. She became normal and looked happy. I explained her how to give space in a relation, how to keep oneself busy." (Read More)

Sooraj Pancholi walks out of jail: Sooraj walked out of the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai in July 2013. Granting relief to Sooraj, the HC had observed that the 22-year-old aspiring actor can't be held solely responsible for the "impulsive" act of his actress-girlfriend. "No doubt it was unfortunate that a young girl has committed suicide. She (Jiah) must have been impulsive and he (Suraj) cannot be held solely responsible for it," Justice Sadhna Jadhav had observed, Sooraj was arrested on June 10 on the charge of abetment of suicide.