My mother couldn't have killed herself, says Shikha Joshi's daughter

Shrawani Joshi, daughter of model-turned-actor Shikha Joshi, 40, who was found dead in Mumbai on May 16, claimed her mother could never commit suicide as she was not a coward.

"I will fight till justice is served to her," said the Shrawani (19). She held plastic surgeon Vijay Sharma responsible for her mother's death and also said that he was the reason behind the disruptions in her academic life.

Shrawani told IANS that she just could not believe that her mother would slit her throat to end her life. "Have you ever heard about such a brutal suicide," she asked.

Shikha was the only breadwinner of the family, with her father being retired and brother unemployed.

A student of B.A. 2nd year Political Science at Delhi University's School of Open Learning, Shrawani was earlier studying in Mumbai. But things changed after her mother complained against Dr Sharma.

"All was well until she (Shikha) filed a complaint against Dr. Sharma. I was pursuing my studies in Mumbai and my mother's career was in full swing. But his (Dr. Sharma) regular threats forced my mother to bring me back to Delhi to stay with my family members. She also gave up her work in Mumbai and would travel to the city only for her case hearings," she said.

"These conditions left the family fearing for my safety. I returned to Delhi and was not even allowed to step out of the house. Few days ago, my mother told my uncle to ensure that I don't even use any social networking sites or online chat forums," Shrawani said.

This time when her mother went to Mumbai to attend court proceedings, she was convinced to stay back as she had another hearing coming up a month later. "Her friend, Madhu Bharti, who she was staying with, suggested that she could stay in Mumbai for a month instead of going back to Delhi and pick up some acting assignments," Shrawani told IANS, in the presence of her maternal uncle, Vishesh Joshi.

There have been reports that Shikha was depressed and felt the molestation incident that took place in 2011 had harmed her acting career, but Shrawani rejected this theory.

"She was not the kind of person to take such an extreme step. That she chose such a painful way to end her life is just too difficult for me to believe. She had a very lively nature. Such stories are being created to weaken the case," Shrawani claimed.

The family had high hopes from the actress who went to Mumbai to work. "She was a source of strength for all of us," Shrawani said.