Sooraj Pancholi cleared in Jiah Khan suicide case: A timeline of events

Jiah Khan, born Nafisa Khan, was a film actor in Hindi movies. Raised in London, Jiah moved to India to pursue a career in Bollywood. Jiah was raised by a single mother, Rabia Amin. Jiah was in a relationship with Sooraj Pancholi at the time of her death.

Jiah made her debut in the movies with Amitabh Bachchan. The Ram Gopal Varma film, titled Nishabd, was loosely inspired by Sam Mendes’ American Beauty.

Jiah Khan in a still from Nishabd with Amitabh Bachchan.

Jiah then appeared in the Aamir Khan film Ghajini, where she had a significant supporting part. Directed by AR Murugadoss, Ghajini was the first Hindi film to make Rs 100 crore in the domestic market.

Jiah’s last Hindi film was Sajid Khan’s Housefull, which featured an ensemble cast including Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta among others.

Jiah Khan with Akshay Kumar in a still from Housefull.

Jiah Khan: A timeline

Jiah, 25, died by suicide at her Juhu residence on June 3, 2013. A six-page letter, handed over by her family after Jiah’s death, indicated that she was unhappy living with her boyfriend, actor Sooraj Pancholi. Sooraj, son of actors Zarina Wahab and Aditya Pancholi, was taken into custody a week after her death but was released on bail soon after. In 2014, the Bombay High Court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate her death.

In October than year, Jiah Khan’s mother Rabia alleges that her daughter was murdered and that she did not die by suicide and said Sooraj must be tried on murder charges. However, CBI findings did not find evidence to support the claim.. The Bombay High Court directed the police to further investigate the case. In 2018, Sooraj Pancholi was charged with abetment of suicide case by a Mumbai court.

Who is Sooraj Pancholi?

Sooraj Pancholi is an actor in Hindi movies. He is the son of actors Zarina Wahab and Aditya Pancholi. He made his debut in 2015 in a film titled Hero, alongside Athiya Shetty. The film was co-produced by Salman Khan and Subhash Ghai. Sooraj has also appeared in films like Satellite Shankar and Time to Dance.

 

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Recent update in Jiah Khan case

In April 2023, the court recorded Sooraj’s statement as he answered 558 questions based on the case. Sooraj insisted that he was falsely implicated in the case, and claimed that Jiah’s sister gave a false statement stating that he used to abuse her during their relationship. When asked if he had a good relationship with Jiah in the beginning, Sooraj said, “My relationship with Nafisa (Khan’s real name) was good throughout.”

When asked about Rabia’s (Jiah’s mother) claim that this was a murder case and not suicide, Sooraj said, “I am not responsible for Nafisa’s death.”