A year after actress Jiah Khan‘s death, the sessions court on Wednesday (June 18, 2014) adjourned to July 21, 2014 the proceedings against Sooraj Pancholi, son of Aditya Pancholi, accused of abetment to suicide.
Both Sooraj Pancholi and his father, Aditya Pancholi were present in court. The court was scheduled to frame charges against Sooraj Pancholi but advocate Shrikant Shivade informed the court that a plea made by Jiah’s mother Rabbiya Khan for an independent detailed investigation into the case was pending in the Bombay High Court and hence the matter be deferred.
The sessions court asked the investigating officer in the case to submit a status report on the probe and developments so far and posted the matter to July 2014 third week.
“We want a special investigation team (SIT) to be formed as soon as possible,” said Aditya Pancholi later outside the court. He said Sooraj has filed for exemption and the court is yet to decide on it.
Aditya Pancholi even stated that he wanted the investigation over the death of Jiah Khan to be over soon and added that a SIT has been formed to probe the case.
“An SIT has been formed. We have not been given any summons, and I want this investigation to finish as soon as possible. The SIT formed by the commissioner has not completed its investigation,” said Aditya Pancholi.
On June 10, 2013, police had arrested Sooraj Pancholi and booked him for abetment to suicide. The two were in a relationship, said the police. The cops picked up Sooraj on the basis of a six page letter allegedly written by Jiah Khan found in her house. The Bombay high court had on July 01, 2013, granted him bail.
The mother of Jiah Khan, Rabbiya Khan, has called on the new Indian Government to re-investigate her daughter’s death, which took place last year, alleging that she had been murdered.
Rabbiya Khan feels that he her daughter was the victim of a cold blooded murder rather than a suicide and has also written to UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, seeking his intervention.
Rabbiya then moved to High Court in October 2013, to allege that her daughter was murdered and sought a CBI probe. A finger print report in the case revealed that no prints were found on the fan from which her body was found hanging.
Advocate Dinesh Tiwari who represented Jiah’s mother Rabbiya Khan, had questioned the suicide theory.
The sessions court Judge A.S. Shende adjourned the matter and now the next hearing would be on July 21, 2014.
