Back on June 3, 2013, Jiah Khan (an American citizen) of ‘Nisabdh’ fame died by suicide at her Juhu residence in Mumbai. Four days after her death, a six-page suicide letter was discovered by her sister which mentioned her plans to end her life after an abortion.
At that time, Jiah was in a relationship with Bollywood actor, Sooraj Pancholi (the son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab).
A week later, cops arrested Pancholi on the basis of her letter and he was reportedly charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306 (abetment of suicide). He remained in custody for almost a month until the Bombay high court granted him bail on July 3.
In his final statement to the court on April 12, 2023, Sooraj Pancholi said that he had been falsely booked in the case. “I had lost the most important person of my life and the woman whom I truly loved,” he said in the statement.
Now, after a decade of the incident, the verdict in the case has finally seen the light of the day. According to a report by Hindustan Times, the Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court pronounced Pancholi ‘not guilty’ in the case. The judge of the court A S Sayyad on Friday said:
“Due to paucity of evidence, this court can’t hold you (Sooraj Pancholi) guilty, hence acquitted.”
View this post on Instagram
Since Jiah’s death, her mom Rabia Khan has been fighting for justice alleging that she was murdered and then hanged to make it look like suicide. She also alleged that Sooraj Pancholi prompted Jiah to end her life. After this judgment came, Khan reacted to the verdict.
Hindustan Times quoted her saying:
“The charge of abetment to suicide has gone. But how did my child die? This is a case of murder. Will approach the high court.”
After being acquitted in the case, Pancholi made his first statement on his Instagram stories:
What are your opinions on this case?