Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court has handed over the probe in actor Jiah Khan's suicide case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The court's order comes after Jiah's mother Rabia Khan filed a plea last year seeking a probe by the CBI into her daughter's death alleging foul play. She had raised strong suspicions about her daughter's death being a case of murder and not suicide, as claimed by police in its charge sheet filed in January this year.
The court also came down heavily on the investigative agency as it informed the court that it was not inclined to take up the case due to lack of man power and technical expertise. The court said that it is unfortunate that agencies from the USA come and attend every hearing for their citizen's death but our own agency is not interested in investigating. Before transferring the case, the court asked whom should we send citizens to when they come to us in cases of injustice?
Jiah, a 25-year-old US citizen, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her home in Juhu on June 3 last year. The police arrested actor Suraj Pancholi on June 10, last year on the basis of a six-page letter which was found in the house, purportedly written by Jiah. Suraj was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on July 1, 2013.
The Mumbai police had in January filed a charge sheet in the case, accusing Suraj, son of actors couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, of abetting Jiah's suicide. Suraj who was in a relationship with Jiah and had allegedly pushed Jiah to suicide, the police had claimed in the charge sheet.
The court has asked the police and the state to extend logistical support and other help required by CBI to carry out further probe. This after it had earlier asked the state and police to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe whether it was a case of murder as Rabia Khan had challenged the police investigation by producing forensic evidence that she sourced on her own which suggested that her daughter could have been killed. The US had offered to involve the FBI and provide forensic and technical assistance to the Mumbai police in the case.
Jiah Khan, born in New York before moving to London and then Mumbai, made her Bollywood debut in 2007 with Nishabd. She went on to star alongside actor Aamir Khan in Ghajini. Her last film was Sajid Khan's multi-starrer Housefull.