By Ritika Jain
A special CBI court in Mumbai today acquitted Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi in actor-model Jiah Khan's death by suicide. Special CBI judge AS Sayyed acquitted Pancholi due to "paucity" of evidence.
The court's verdict comes almost a decade after the young actor was found dead in her Juhu apartment in Mumbai on June 3, 2013.
Khan, who debuted in filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma's Nishabh was dating Pancholi at the time of her death. Khan had left a suicide note in which she allegedly outlined her ordeal which included mental and physical abuse because of Pancholi.
Pancholi - son of Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab - was arrested 10 days after Khan's death.
The Bombay High Court in July 2014 transferred the case to the CBI on a plea made by Khan's mother Rabia. The CBI filed its chargesheet in 2015 where it charged Pancholi under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly abetting suicide. The CBI ruled out murder.
The prosecution had examined 22 witnesses including Rabia to make its case.
