Sooraj Pancholi breaks his silence after acquittal in Jiah Khan suicide case

Mumbai: Actor Sooraj Pancholi, who was cleared of suicide abetment charges in the Jiah Khan death case on Friday, has now spoken out for the first time. In a statement, the actor spoke about "winning his dignity back".

"The verdict has taken ten long and painful years, with many sleepless nights. But today, I have not only won this case but also won back my dignity and confidence. It took a lot of courage to face the world with such heinous allegations," he said.

The suicide case of Jiah Khan in 2013 left the nation and the film fraternity stunned.

The death of the actress, who worked in Bollywood movies such as 'Nishabd', 'Ghajini', and 'Houseful', was directly linked to her then-boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi, who is the son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, and comes from an influential family.

Sooraj continued, saying "I hope and pray to God that nobody goes through what I have gone through at such a young age. I do not know who will give these ten years of my life back to me, but I am glad that this has finally come to an end, not only for me but especially for my family. There is nothing more important than peace in this world."

Meanwhile, Jiah's mother, Rabia, expressed her opinion about the verdict as she spoke to the media outside the court on Friday.

She said: "I will go to the High Court or Supreme Court. They want me to work harder, I will work harder. I have fought for ten years, and I will fight more. Jiah will get justice".

Rabia, in the past, claimed that Jiah was murdered. She also demanded that a murder investigation be launched against Sooraj. She reiterated the same on Friday as well.
"The road is now open for me. CBI could have pressed for murder charges. I am grateful for the court to hold that there is no evidence because no evidence was submitted," she added.

(With IANS inputs)