Jiah Khan suicide case: Sooraj Pancholi’s trial begins in Mumbai court

The trial of actor Sooraj Pancholi, accused of abetting the suicide of actress Jiah Khan, started at a sessions court today. Sooraj, son of Bollywood couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, has been booked under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (abettment of suicide).

According to the CBI’s charge sheet, the body of Jiah, best known for her performance in the film Nishabd starring Amitabh Bachchan, was found hanging at her residence in Mumbai on June 3, 2013 by her mother Rabiya Khan.
Jiah had left Sooraj’s house, where she had been staying for the previous two days, in the morning, according to her mother.The CBI alleged that Sooraj hid certain facts and fabricated information when he was questioned.

The agency also said that a three-page unsigned note seized by Mumbai police which earlier probed the case had been written by Jiah, and it narrated her “intimate relationship” with Sooraj and the “physical abuse and mental and physical torture” she faced at his hands.

“The court asked the prosecution to submit the list of its witnesses so that summons can be issued to them,” Sooraj’s lawyer Prashant Patil said. The court then adjourned the hearing to February 21.

Sooraj, who is out …read more