Troubled love affair, failing career drove Jiah to end life

Young actress Jiah Khan allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself with police claiming she was heartbroken after a failed relationship with the son of an actor couple which possibly drove her to take the step at her home last night.

The body of Jiah, 25, was found hanging at her 'Sagar Sangeet' residence in Juhu at around 11 PM where she lived with mother and sister who were not present when she ended her life.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that she was in a relationship with Suraj, son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab for nearly a year. Jiah was said to be under depression after coming to know of Suraj's new love interest, who supplied jewellery to the Pancholis.

Investigators said the actress, who made her dream debut opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Gopal Varma's 2007 film 'Nishabd', prima facie took her life due to her strained relationship with Suraj, a student at an acting institute.

Suraj and Jiah spoke over telephone a number of times yesterday, with the last call being made at 22.53 PM which lasted for two minutes. Soon thereafter, Jiah hanged herself. Post mortem examination revealed the incident took place between 11 pm and 11.30 pm, sources said.

"Jiah was said to be very possessive about Suraj. Last night they exchanged text messages on their cell phones. Suraj also sent her a bouquet which she did not accept," they said.

Jiah was also said to be unhappy about her career in Bollywood as she was out of job for quite some time. She had told her mother that she wanted to take up interior designing as a profession besides acting in Bollywood.

Her mother Razia Khan told the police that Jiah had gone to Hyderabad on June 2 for an audition which did not go off well. The actor, she told the police, was advised to shed weight.

Both Suraj and Aditya were questioned by the police in connection with the case for nearly three-and-a-half hours and would be called again if necessary.