Actor Sooraj Pancholi was acquitted by Mumbai court in Jiah Khan’s death by suicide case. The court cited lack of evidence against Soorah while pronouncing the verdict. Sooraj was present in the court along with his mother, veteran actress Zarina Wahab.

The verdict into the suicide came a decade following the death of the Nishabdh actress. Jiah Khan, 25, was found hanging at her Juhu home in Mumbai on June 3, 2013.

Sooraj, based on a letter seized a week later purportedly written by the Jiah Khan whom he was in a relationship,was booked under section 306 (abetment to suicide) and arrested by the Mumbai Police. He was later out on bail.

In October 2013, Rabia Khan moved Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe in the case while alleging that her daughter Jiah Khan had been murdered. On the order of the Bombay High Court, the CBI took over the probe from the Maharashtra Police in July 2014. Rabia claimed that her daughter was in an abusive relationship with Sooraj Pancholi. 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.

Sooraj Pancholi and Jiah Khan reportedly started dating in September 2012. 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. She later played a significant role in Ghajni and lastly in Khans Housefull.

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