Mumbai : Aditya Pancholi’s son Suraj held for abetting Jiah Khan’s suicide

Mumbai, 11 June 2013 :  Bollywood actor Aditya Pancholi’s son Suraj was arrested on Monday evening for abetting actor Jiah Khan’s suicide. The action follows the delayed discovery of a letter by Jiah in which she holds an unnamed person responsible for her extreme step and mentions abortion, pain, abuse, torture and rape. Suraj, 22, was reportedly in a relationship with Jiah and was the last person she spoke to on phone before hanging herself at her residence last Monday.

 

 

Earlier on Monday, the police recorded Jiah’s mother Rabiya’s statement again, where she repeated her allegation that Suraj was the man Jiah addressed her letter to.

Jiah’s family found the letter in her handbag and gave it to the police on Saturday.

"We registered an FIR under the IPC’s section 306 (abetment of suicide) on the basis of Rabiya Khan’s statement and arrested Suraj. We will produce him in the Andheri court on Tuesday for remand," said senior inspector Arun Bhagat of the Juhu police station.

The police had initially stated there was no evidence against Suraj, but after the letter’s appearance, they consulted legal experts about its contents before deciding to book Suraj. A police team went to the Pancholi residence in Juhu around 5pm and took Suraj in custody. His mother and sister followed him to the police station in a separate car; they left from there around 9pm.

The police have said that before Jiah’s suicide, Suraj spent two nights with her. On her last day, she phoned him, wanting to meet him, but he refused; instead, they had an argument. The police have been examining Jiah’s phone for communication details. In Suraj’s phone, they found the messages the two exchanged deleted. On Mondaymorning, ACP (west region) Vishwas Nangre-Patil and DCP Chhering Dorje, along with other officers, visited Jiah’s residence for more clues.

On Monday, Rabiya also held a press conference at her home, in which she reiterated that Jia’s suicide was not due to a lack of assignments, but her troubled relationship with Suraj. "My point is to tell you the truth. It is being said that she was depressed and had no work, but it was not the case," Rabiya said. "She was attending at least three to four events a month. She was making money and was living comfortably in her house with two maids and even had a car and a driver. It was the insecurity that her love was not respected and recognized that was killing her day by day."