Jiah Khan spent an anxious Monday calling and texting her boyfriend of about a year, arguing with him and even trying to meet him before hanging herself. She was found dead in the bedroom of her Juhu apartment around 11pm, police said.
She had spent the weekend with boyfriend Suraj Pancholi, son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, and was upset because she thought he was avoiding her. "After going through the phone calls and SMS details, we learnt she suspected Suraj was dating another girl," said a police officer on Tuesday.
The Juhu police ruled out foul play on the basis of the post-mortem report and registered an accidental death report. "There is no direct evidence indicating that someone had instigated Jiah to commit suicide. We will record her sisters' statements and will decide on the further course of action," said additional commissioner of police (west region) Vishwas Nangre-Patil.
Earlier on Tuesday, Suraj and Aditya's statements were recorded. "They were in a close relationship and their families knew about it. Aditya had warned his son to disassociate himself from Jiah as it would affect his film career," said the officer.
Aditya Pancholi admitted that Suraj avoided Jiah's calls. "It happens between friends. There are times when you are not in the mood to talk, so you do avoid. Their friendship was just nine months old. Had Suraj known she would take such a drastic step, he would have met her. All he told her (was to) leave him alone and he would call her back."
Jiah's mother Rabiya, who found her daughter's body hanging from the ceiling fan in their first-floor apartment in Juhu's Sagar Sangeet building, told police that Jiah was disturbed because of professional and personal problems. She asked cops to talk to Suraj as he was the last person to have spoken to her.
On Saturday morning, Jiah went to Hyderabad for an audition and returned that evening. She was apparently upset as the role required her to put on weight. She spent the weekend at Suraj's house, where he stays with his grandparents. The couple had dinner at a five-star hotel on Sunday and Jiah returned home on Monday.
After exchanging several calls on Monday, Suraj apparently started avoiding Jiah. She texted him, asking, "Why you are cold and not responding (to) me." Later, she told him she had got three film assignments and Suraj sent a bouquet through his servant Deva. She kept the bouquet at home for some time and then gave it to the security guard of her building around 9.30pm, instructing him to dump it in the bin.
She then went to Suraj's house in her attempt to meet him. But Deva told her that he was with his parents. She returned home after which Suraj texted her, asking why she had come. At 10.53pm, they argued on the phone, said the police. At 11.07pm, Suraj sent her an SMS requesting her to call him back, but there was no reply. The police suspect she had hanged herself by then.
Jiah lived with mother Rabiya, who was at a friend's place on Monday night for a dinner. Aditya Pancholi was also there.
A family friend Sevy Ali said: "Jiah messaged her mother, 'I love you', around 9.30pm. She even called and told her that she has got a Telugu film, but has been asked to put on weight."
CCTV footage in the building showed no one had visited Jiah before she committed suicide. The post-mortem report recorded no external injuries.
Jiah's sister Kavita arrived in Mumbai late on Monday night as planned earlier and had no clue that her sister had killed herself. Their youngest sister Karisma is arriving on Tuesday.
The police recorded Aditya and Suraj's statements for four hours on Tuesday before allowing them to go. "If there is any allegation against them in future or new evidence emerges, we will call them for questioning again," said a senior officer. Rabiya was not in the proper frame of mind to give a detailed statement.
TOI
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