Shocked that Sooraj wasn’t charged with murder: Jiah Khan’s mother

“Until December 8 they (CBI) told me that it is a clear case of homicide, I was shocked to hear that they have not added murder charges against Sooraj Pancholi,” said Rabia Khan, Jiah Khan’s mother, struggling to hold back tears as she emerged from the special women’s court on Friday.

Rabia claimed that a forensic examination conducted on Jiah’s body by an expert from England clearly showed that her daughter had been murdered. The CBI was told about it, Rabia said, but for some reason did not take cognisance of it. “A CBI officer even told me that he was surprised at why a girl who was so excited and happy would commit suicide,” she said.

Read more: Charge sheet has little to nail Sooraj in Jiah Khan case

Rabia added that a few days ago, she received a call from a person named Aqeel, who claimed to have evidence to prove how Jiah died. “He said he is with a production house and will hand over the evidence only to me and no-one else. He also said that the person who collected the evidence wanted to submit it to show that he was not involved in it,” said Rabia. She said she asked Aqeel to submit the evidence to her lawyer, but he refused, saying he would give it only to her. “I informed the CBI about this, but when they traced him, he denied he had said any such thing,” she added.

Rabia claimed that Jiah was “happy and excited” on the day of her death. “She was excited to meet her cousin and even sent a message about that. She was also looking forward to her meeting with a production house that day. I still remember she was singing a song by her favourite artist while in the car with me. It was so beautiful that I got goose bumps. How can a girl who was so happy and excited commit suicide?” Rabia said.

She also spoke about the time that she, Jiah and Sooraj were sitting in a café and Sooraj told her (Rabia) that he wanted to marry Jiah. “I asked Jiah whether she trusts him and there was silence. All of a sudden Sooraj intervened and said, ‘Yes she does’. I later told her that if a person can push you, the next day he will hit you and then probably, in a fit of rage, even murder you,” she added.

Meanwhile, Sooraj’s father Aditya Pancholi told HT he will contest the CBI’s charges in court. “The CBI has investigated the case and submitted a supplementary charge sheet in the special women’s court, in which it charges Sooraj with abetting suicide. I will challenge the charge in court” said Pancholi.