Sooraj Pancholi’s trail for Jiah Khan murder case begins in Mumbai court today

On Thursday, the trail of actor Sooraj Pancholi began who was accused of abetting the suicide of actress Jiah Khan. Son of Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab has been booked under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (abetment of suicide). As per CBI’s charge sheet Jiah Khan’s body was found hanging at her residence in Mumbai on June 2. This incident took place in 2013.


According to her mother, Jiah had left Sooraj's house, where she had been staying for the previous two days, in the morning. The CBI alleged that Sooraj hid certain facts and fabricated information when he was questioned. It was also said by the agency that a three-page unsigned note was seized by Mumbai police which was earlier probed that case had been written by Jiah, and it narrated her intimate relationship with Sooraj and the physical abuse and mental and physical torture she faced at his hands.


Sooraj’s lawyer Prashant Patil said, "The court asked the prosecution to submit the list of its witnesses so that summons can be issued to them.” The actor was present in the jail today. As of now, he is out on bail, he was arrested on June 10, 2013, following to the suicide case. The Bombay High Court granted him bail a few days later on July 2.


The high court transferred the case to the CBI in July 2014 on Rabiya Khan's petition which claimed that police were not probing it properly. However, when the CBI filed a charge sheet against Sooraj for abetment, Rabiya Khan again moved the high court seeking a fresh probe by a special investigation team.
Rabiya Khan even claimed that the CBI was wrong in concluding that it was a case of suicide and not a homicide. The high court dismissed the petition, finding no merit in the plea.