The latest development in the case of Bollywood actress Jiah Khan's shocking suicide involves the son of a well-known couple in the entertainment community: Khan's reported boyfriend Suraj Pancholi.
Pancholi, who was the last person whom Khan spoke with on the phone before her June 3 suicide, has been arrested on suspicion of abetting the 25-year-old actress' death. Authorities tell the Times of India that Khan's family found a six-page suicide note in her handbag three days after the actress took her own life, in which she mentioned abuse, torture, rape, and even an abortion.
Though the letter is not addressed to anyone in particular, Khan's mother Rabiya held a press conference at her Mumbai home on Monday, June 10, and claimed that Khan's relationship with Pancholi was the main reason for her untimely death.
"My point is to tell you the truth," she told reporters. "It is being said that she was depressed and had no work, but it was not the case. She was attending at least three to four events a month. She was making money and was living comfortably in her house with two maids and even had a car and a driver."
"It was the insecurity that her love was not respected and recognized that was killing her day by day," she concluded.
Rabiya found Khan hanged in her room on Monday, June 3. The case was not being treated as suspicious at first, as there was no suicide note at the scene.
Now, however, authorities are unraveling a different tale, telling reporters that Khan had spent two nights with Pancholi in the days prior to her death, and that on her last day, she had reached out to him — a call that ultimately ended in an argument.
Pancholi has since deleted messages between the Khan himself from his phone. The 22-year-old and his family have yet to make any statements about the charges against him.
Khan (real name: Nafisa Khan) was born in New York and grew up in London before moving to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting full time. She made her debut in 2007 film Nishabd, and would go on to tackle supporting roles in 2008 psychological thriller Ghajini and 2010 comedy Housefull. Housefull would ultimately be her last film.
"Just can't believe that someone as young and so full of life is just dead," Nishabd director Ram Gopal Varma tweeted shortly after Khan's death. "Never ever seen a debutant actress with more spunk and more spirit than Jiah when I was directing her in Nishabd."
