Jiah Khan case: SC asks Rabia Khan to move Bombay HC for SIT probe

May 18, 2016

New Delhi, May 18: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the trial court proceedings against Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi in the Jiah Khan suicide case and asked her mother to approach the Bombay high court with her fresh plea seeking reiefs including an SIT probe into the incident.

jiakhanRabia Khan, the mother of the deceased actress, has also sought stay on the lower court proceedings and alleged that CBI has also concurred with the finding of the Mumbai police that it was a suicide and not homicidal death.

“The trial in the lower court is not proceeding in a proper manner and there are likelihood of accused (Sooraj) being discharged in the case,” counsel for Rabia told the vacation bench of Justices A M Sapre and Ashok Bhushan.

Senior advocate Jayant Bhushan also said that the CBI, “due to reasons best know to them”, has been vehemently opposing the appointment of special public prosecutor in the case by Maharashtra government.

He said that investigation be handed over to the SIT as CBI has also in its charge sheet said that the death was not homicidal despite forensic evidence suggesting otherwise.

The bench then asked Rabia to approach Bombay High Court with her fresh application.

The apex court directed the High Court to hear Rabia’s plea expeditiously on June 7, the date already fixed in the case.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had refused to extend the stay granted on trial against actor Sooraj.

The High Court had on February 25 stayed the trial against Sooraj while hearing a petition filed by Jiah’s mother challenging the investigating agency CBI’s charge sheet terming Jiah’s death as a suicide.

Rabia had petitioned the High Court against CBI categorising Jiah’s death on June 3, 2013 as suicidal and not homicidal. Rabia sought the High Court to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case afresh.

The trial court is scheduled to frame charges against Sooraj in the case.

Rabia in her petition before the High Court had contended Rabia in her petition before the High Court had contended that there were several anomalies in the charge sheet filed by the CBI in December last year and sought directions to enable the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist the SIT as Jiah was a US citizen.

Jiah’s boyfriend-actor Sooraj was arrested for abetting her suicide on June 10, 2013 but released on July 2, 2013, after the HC had granted him bail.

The petition alleged that the CBI concluded in haste that the case was that of suicide; that it did not bother to counter question concerned people and that it did not bother getting important evidence on record.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: In an attempt to constructively use leisure time during the lockdown, actor Bhumi Pednekar has started learning Kathak from her mother, Sumitra Pednekar, who is a trained dancer of this discipline.

Elaborating on her keenness to enhance her knowledge on the dance form, the actor explained about her routine followed for the dance practice and how much she is enjoying it.

"I wanted to learn kathak for a long time as my mother is a trained Kathak dancer! So, for about an hour in the evening this what I and my mom do. She is quite enjoying it and I'm loving learning it from her!" the 30-year-old actor said.

The growing fear of coronavirus has halted many entertainment shootings and productions. The 'Pati Patni Aur Who' actor referring to the current situation opened about the uncertainties of going back to shootings.

"It has put a big question mark on when will we get back to work and how things are going to be. There's a lot of uncertainty. Of course, our dates and schedules have gone haywire and we can't plan anything," she added.

However, the 'Bala' actor is finding a silver lining among the gloom as she says that the time has given her an opportunity to get back to what she used to love as a child - the habit of reading.

"I was a voracious reader but since entering Bollywood I haven't got a chance to read something at a stretch," she said.

"But now, I have got all the time and I'm making full use of the time at hand. I have been watching TED talks and have been reading a lot about climate change because that is something, I am severely passionate about. This time has been very educational for me," she added.

On the professional front, Pednekar will be soon seen as a leading lady in the Akshay Kumar's 'Durgavati' and award-winning director Alankrita Srivastava's 'Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare'.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Mumbai, Jul 21: Police have recorded statements ofthree psychiatrists and a psychotherapist as part of their probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput last month, a senior official said on Monday.

Their "statements were recorded over the last three- four days" by the Bandra police who are probing the case, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Abhishek Trimukhe.

The late actor was consulting these mental health professionals and hence their statements were recorded as part of the ongoing probe, police said.

Rajput was undergoing treatment for depression since November 2019, they said.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his suburban Bandra apartment on June 14 in what the police claimed was a case of suicide. In the initial investigation, the Mumbai police had found that the actor was under medication for depression.

So far, the police have recorded statements of over 36 people, including director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bollywood casting director Mukesh Chhabra, actress Sanjana Sanghi and Rajput's friend Sandip Singh, among others.

Rajput's friend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, has also given her statement to the police.

Filmmaker Aditya Chopra recorded his statement in connection with the case at the Versova Police Station on Saturday.

Rajput starred in films such as 'Shuddh Desi Romance', 'Raabta', 'Kedarnath' and 'Sonchiriya'. But his most prominent role came as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic, 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story'.

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News Network
May 8,2020

London, May 8: Actor Florence Pugh says the most terrifying aspect of starring in the upcoming superhero film "Black Widow" was doing the Russian accent.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe's stand-alone film, the Oscar-nominated actor plays Yelena Belova, a sister-figure to Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/ the titular Black Widow who was trained in the Red Room.

"I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there and I didn't know what it sounded like.

"I'm also playing a character who no-one's seen before but they've read about her. I didn't know whether people were going to hate me!" Pugh told ELLE UK for its June issue.

The 24-year-old actor also said the idea of joining the MCU itself was quite "daunting".

"When you think of Marvel, it's big and daunting. Especially being a relatively small actor to look at it and go, 'Oh! I'm going to be a part of this', that's a big decision," she said.

"Black Widow", which was scheduled to hit the theatres on May 1, will now release on November 6 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Directed by Cate Shortland, the film also stars David Harbour and Rachel Weisz.

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