Jiah Khan's suicide case: Actor Suraj Pancholi gets bail

July 1, 2013

Suraj_PancholiMumbai, Jul 1: The Bombay high court on Monday granted bail to Suraj Pancholi, son of actor Aditya Pancholi, while observing that he cannot be held solely responsible for the "impulsive" act of suicide committed by actress Jiah Khan.

"No doubt that it was an unfortunate incident that a young girl has committed suicide. She (Jiah) must have been impulsive and he (Suraj) cannot be held solely responsible for it," Justice Sadhna Jadhav said.

Suraj, 22, arrested on June 10, has been granted bail on a surety of Rs 50,000. The court has directed him to surrender his passport and appear before the Juhu police every alternate day.

The court also observed that the letter, purportedly written by Jiah and recovered from her house, could not be taken as a suicide note as it is not addressed to anyone and is not dated.

"The question is if the script recovered from the deceased's house is addressed to the applicant (Suraj) or is it just extracts from her diary? Whether it can be called suicide note at all? When there is no date on it can it be linked to the day she committed suicide? " the court queried.

It added that the letter written by Jiah never reached the applicant.

"Therefore it cannot be said that the emotions expressed in the letter ever reached the applicant," Justice Jadhav said.

The court also held that Suraj never nurtured an intent or "mens rea" (motive) to push the girl to commit suicide.

"She was in the relationship on her own volition. It all depends on the pscyhe of the person. It cannot be ignored that Jiah had suicidal tendencies. Earlier also she had attempted suicide and it was the applicant who took care of her," Justice Jadhav said, adding that the deceased's mother was not even aware of this incident.

The court further said that it was clear that the deceased was extremely possessive of the applicant, who was focusing on his career and hence could not give much time to Jiah.

"It also appears that on the day of the incident there was some misunderstanding between the deceased and applicant due to which Jiah was in a rage of fury," the court said.

Observing that a 22-year-old boy has been in jail for 21 days and that there was no need for further incarceration, the court granted bail to Suraj.

He had moved the high court on June 26 seeking bail in the case, after a sessions court had earlier rejected his bail plea, saying that prima facie Jiah had been mentally abused by Suraj.

He was arrested on the basis of a letter, purportedly written by Jiah, which was found by her mother Rabiyah Khan and her sister from Jiah's bedroom a few days after she hung herself from the ceiling fan on June 3.

In the letter, Jiah mentioned how she was mentally harassed by Suraj and how she had undergone an abortion.

Suraj, lodged in Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai, had said in his bail plea that he and Jiah were in a consensual relationship and the letter was being misused by Rabiyah.

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News Network
March 21,2020

Mar 21: Singer Sonu Nigam has decided to extend his stay in Dubai as he believes travelling amid the coronavirus outbreak can put people around him at risk.

The singer was in the Himalayas earlier and wanted to come to Mumbai for a concert scheduled for March 6 but it got postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

He then decided to head to Dubai to be with his wife and son and has been there since a few weeks.

"I am fortunate that my wife and my son are in Dubai. My son studies here and I keep travelling here a lot, Dubai is like my second base. But my father, sister are alone in India. I wanted to come back to India and be at my father's side but I realised that if I do that, I'll be exposing him to the risk of me carrying this virus, who knows the extent of the danger," Sonu told

The 46-year-old singer said everybody is taking precautions and he wants to ensure that the health of those around him isn't at risk.

"I thought let's not outsmart the virus. I thought it's better for me to stay for a bit (till things go normal). Coming back to India, and then going in quarantine will still be a risk.

"I came to Dubai and I thought I'll be able to go back to India but I didn't know it's going to be such an issue eventually. But we are fine here."

On Friday, singer Kanika Kapoor become the first Bollywood celebrity to test positive for the deadly virus in the country and has said she is under complete quarantine and medical care.

The UP police later booked the singer for negligence and committing acts that are likely to spread disease dangerous to life after she attended at least three gatherings in Lucknow, including a party where political leaders were present.

When asked if his decision of staying back was in anyway related to what happened to Kanika, Sonu said that wasn't the case.

"The last time I was contemplating coming to India was on March 16 night, but thankfully my flight got cancelled. Then from March 17, there was this regulation from the government of India that you have to go on a self quarantine for 14 days, compulsorily. I decided I shouldn't take a chance. Being a potential carrier is the worst thing," he said

In Dubai, the singer said the family is taking extreme precautions.

"We all are being safe, staying indoors, not gathering with many people. Careless people shouldn't be around you at this point, people who are too brash, that 'oh nothing will happen.' I don't allow such people in my vicinity. I'm.very hygiene conscious anyway." said the singer.

Sonu said he will be conducting a live music concert on his social media on Sunday.

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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 2,2020

Mumbai, Jul 2: The Mumbai police have summoned noted filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali for questioning in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case. According to several reports, casting director Shanoo Sharma too might be questioned in connection with the star’s death.

Reports also state that Kangana Ranaut and Shekhar Kapur, who are not directly involved with the investigation, are likely to be asked to record their statements.

The development comes days after the cops had asked for the details of SSR’s contract with Yashraj Films. The MS Dhoni actor had starred in Shuddh Desi Romance and Detective Byomkesh Bakshi, which were backed by the banner. He was supposed to team up with YRF for Paani, directed by Kapur, but the movie was on hold due to creative differences between the Mr India helmer and the production house.

Sushant died by suicide on June 14, leaving his near and dear ones in a state of shock. Following his demise, fans alleged that several Bollywood biggies had tried to sabotage his career as he was an ‘outsider’, reigniting the nepotism debate.

SSR, who hailed from Patna, made an impact in the TV industry before entering Bollywood with the sleeper hit Kai Po Che. He impressed fans with his performances in PK and Shuddh Desi Romance, consolidating his standing in the industry. It was, however, MS Dhoni that established him as a bankable star. Chhichore was his last theatrical release before his death. Drive, backed by Karan Johar, released directly on Netflix. His last film Dil Bechara is slated to release on Disney+ Hotstar on July 24.

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