A Mumbai Special CBI Court on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi in the sensational Jiah Khan death case, in which he was charged with abetment to suicide.
The verdict comes nearly 10 years after Khan, 25, was found dead in her apartment in the upscale Mumbai area of Juhu, on the midnight of June 3, 2013.
Days later, Pancholi — son of veteran actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab — was arrested and charged with abetment to suicide.
An American citizen, Khan was said to be in a relationship with Pancholi, who was then trying to make his mark in Bollywood.
She apparently left a note, which pointed the needle of suspicion towards Pancholi, who was later arrested.
Pancholi was booked under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly abetting Khan’s suicide, a week after her death.
Subsequently, the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation after repeated pleas by Khan’s mother Rabia Khan and directives of the Bombay High Court on July 3, 2014.
In her note, Khan had narrated an intimate relationship, physical abuse, mental and physical torture she suffered allegedly at the hands of Pancholi.
The prosecution in the case had examined 22 witnesses, including Khan’s mother, while advocate Prashant Patil appeared for Pancholi.
