Pancholi physically, verbally abused Jiah Khan in 2012, her mother tells court

According to Rabia’s deposition, Jiah told her in 2012 that Pancholi had physically and verbally abused her.

Rabia also recalled how director Ram Gopal Varma had approached Jiah with a film role when she was on holiday in Mumbai in 2006. Varma had offered the then 17-year-old Jiah a role opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd. The movie, which was released in 2007, led to Jiah receiving a lot of accolades and other film offers.

Rabia said that in 2012, Jiah had told her that a man was stalking her on social media. The man, aspiring actor Suraj Pancholi, had sent Jiah messages praising her, Rabia told the court. Pancholi and Jiah later met and entered a relationship in October 2012. Rabia said that Jiah used to shuttle between London and Mumbai at the time.

In a visit in February 2013, Jiah had told Rabia that Pancholi “verbally and physically” abused her. She said Jiah told her that Panchaoli had thrown her out of his car once. Rabia told the court that earlier in December 2012, she had received a text from Pancholi in which the latter apologised “for his anger” at Jiah. “I first discovered then that they had had a violent fight,” Rabia told the court. Jiah had later told Rabia that Pancholi often “put her down” in front of others and that she suspected he was cheating on her.

Rabia’s deposition will continue on Thursday.

Pancholi was booked for allegedly abetting Khan’s death by suicide at her Juhu home on June 3, 2013. The trial in the case began in March 2019.