BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

2. Viveka Babajee
T'Town Times: A Miss Mauritius World 1993 and Miss Mauritius 1994 winner, Viveka achieved fame in India after her famous KamaSutra ad. She also appeared in music videos for Daler Mehndi's 'Boom Boom' and Harbhajan Mann's 'Hai Meri Billo'. She was a famous model and has walked the ramp for top designers including Ritu Kumar, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Rohit Bal, Suneet Varma, JJ Valaya and Tarun Tahiliani. She also worked as an anchor for Fashion TV, India. She made her Bollywood debut with 'Yeh Kaisi Mohabbat Hai' in 2002.
Tragedy: Viveka was 37 when she committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in her apartment on 25 June 2010. Although police reports state that a suicide note was recovered blaming her boyfriend Gautam Vohra, no case was registered against him. It was alleged that she killed herself due to depression.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

3. Parveen Babi
T'Town Times: As beautiful as she was successful, in the late 70s and early 80s Pareveen Babi worked opposite Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Feroz Khan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and Dharmendra. Her most famous films include 'Amar Akbhar Anthony' (1977), 'Deewaar' (1975), 'Kranti' (1981) and 'Namak Halal' (1982). In a career spanning close to 10 years, she excelled in glamorous roles roles and was also featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine.
Tragedy: In the late 1980s, she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Soon she began accusing many stars for allegedly conspiring to kill her. Parveen was found dead in her apartment on 22 January 2005. She was 55 years old. Her neighbors alerted the police after noticing that she had not collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for over 3 days. It was first rumored that her death was due to starvation although police reports later determined that she died due to organ failure.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

4. Nafisa Joseph
T'Town Times: Nafia Joseph was a popular MTV VJ and model. She won the Miss India Universe title in 1997 at the age of 19 and was one of the semi-finalists in the Miss Universe beauty pageant in Miami the same year. She hosted the MTV Show 'Housefull' for almost 5 years, acted in the TV series 'C.A.T.S.' on Sony TV and did a brief cameo in the 1999 film 'Taal'. In 2004, she also hosted the show 'Style' on Star World. An animal lover, Nafisa participated in various campaigns for PETA and PFA.
Tragedy: Nafisa was in a relationship with Gautam Khanduja and was all set to marry him. But she hanged herself on 29 July 2004, allegedly after finding out that her fianc Gautam was still married. Nafisa's parents filed a case against Gautam accusing him of abetting her death, the case was stayed by the Bombay High Court.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

T'Town Times: One of the most famous actresses of her time, Divya Bharti made her debut at the age of 16 in the Telgu film 'Bobbili Raja' (1990) and then went on to work in several hit Bollywood films, Think 'Vishwatma' (1992), 'Shola Aur Shabnam' (1992) and 'Deewana' (1992), for which she received a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. In 1992, she married producer Sajid Nadiadwala.
Tragedy: On 5 April 1993, Divya Bharti died after falling from her fifth-storeyed apartment in Mumbai. She was only 19 years old. There were conspiracy theories surrounding her death that involved her husband, a possibility of accidental death and even murder. Mumbai Police failed to accumulate the necessary evidence to reach a definite conclusion and the case was gradually closed in 1998.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

6. Silk Smitha
T'Town Times: Silk Smitha aka Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati was one of the boldest actresses in the South Indian film industry. In a career spanning 17 years, she appeared in over 450 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi, including 'Sadma'. She had men going wild over her skin show and dances in many films.
Tragedy: In 1996, Silk committed suicide by poisoning herself at the age of 35. It was reported that she was depressed due to financial problems failed relationships and alcohol addiction.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

7. Manmohan Desai
T'Town Times: Famed Bollywood director Manmohan Desai was the top entertainer of the 70s and 80s, with a series of hits including 'Suhaag' (1979), 'Amar Akbar Anthony' (1977), 'Coolie' (1983) and 'Naseeb' (1981). He'd worked with everyone from Raj Kapoor in 'Chhalia' (1960) and Shammi Kapoor in 'Bluffmaster' (1963) to Rajesh Khanna in 'Sachaa Jhutha' (1970) and Dharmendra in 'Dharam Veer' (1977).
Tragedy: Manmohan Desai fell to his death from the balcony of his home on 1 March 1994. He had been suffering from debilitating and chronic back pain and many suspected that he had committed suicide.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

8. Guru Dutt
T'Town Times: A popular director, producer and actor, the multi-talented Guru Dutt made such classics as 'Pyaasa' (1957), 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' (1959), 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam' (1962) and 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand' (1960). The first two films were included among 'The Greatest Films of all Time' by 'Time' magazine. In 1953, he married Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhary, a top playback singer. It is alleged that they had an unhappy married life and that Dutt's closeness to actress Waheeda Rehman rumouredly destroyed his marriage to Geeta.
Tragedy: On 10 October 1964, the 39-year-old Guru Dutt was found dead in his apartment after overdosing on sleeping pills and liquor. It was his third suicide attempt.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

PICTURES OF JIAH KHAN:

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES:

PICTURES OF JIAH KHAN:

Jiah Khan's last letter was released by her mother

The sad death of actress Jiah Khan last week has shocked the entire film industry. Her suicide note, which was released by her mother Rabiya Khan, talks of the starlet's troubled romance with newcomer Suraj Pancholi (son of Aditya Pancholi). Take a look at the last letter from Jiah Khan, allegedly addressed to Suraj Pancholi.

"I don’t know how to say this to you but I might as well now as I have nothing to lose. I’ve already lost everything. If you’re reading this I might have already left or about to leave. I am broken inside. You may not have known this but you affected me deeply to a point where I lost myself in loving you. Yet you tortured me everyday. These days I see no light I wake up not wanting to wake up. There was a time I saw my life with you, a future with you. But you shattered my dreams. I feel dead inside. I’ve never given so much of myself to someone or cared so much. You returned my love with cheating and lies. It didn’t matter how many gifts I gave you or how beautiful I looked for you. I was scared of getting pregnant but I gave myself completely the pain you have caused me everyday has destroyed every bit of me, destroyed my soul. I can’t eat or sleep or think or function. I am running away from everything. The career is not even worth it anymore. When I first met you I was driven, ambitious and disciplined. Then I fell for you, a love I thought would bring out the best in me. I don’t know why destiny brought us together. After all the pain, the rape, the abuse, the torture I have seen previously I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t see any love or commitment from you. I just became increasingly scared that you would hurt me mentally or physically. Your life was about partying and women. Mine was you and my work. If I stay here I will crave you and miss you. So I am kissing my 10-year career and dreams goodbye. I never told you but I received a message about you. About you cheating on me. I chose to ignore it, decided to trust you. You embarrassed me. I never went out, I never went with anyone else. I am a loyal person. I never met anyone with Karthik I just wanted you to feel how you make me feel constantly. No other woman will give you as much as I did or love you as much as I did. I can write that in my blood. Things were looking up for me here, but is it worth it when you constantly feel the pain of heartbreak when the person you love wants to abuse you or threatens o hit you or cheats on you telling other girls they are beautiful or throws you out of their house when you have no where to go and you’ve come to them out of love or when they lie to your face or they make you chase after them in their car. Or disrespects their family. You never even met my sister. I bought your sister presents. You tore my soul. I have no reason to breathe anymore. All I wanted was love. I did everything for you. I was working for us. But you were never my partner. My future is destroyed my happiness snatched away from me. I always wished the best for you, was ready to invest what little money I had in your betterment. You never appreciated my love, Kicked me in the face. I have no confidence or self esteem left, whatever talent whatever ambition you took it all away. You destroyed my life. It hurt me so much that I waited for you for ten days and you didn’t bother buying me something. The Goa trip was my birthday present but even after you cheated I still spent on you. I aborted our baby when it hurt me deeply. You destroyed my Christmas and my birthday dinner when I came back. When I tried my hardest to make your birthday special. You chose to be away from me on Valentines Day. You promised me once we made it to one year we would get engaged. All you want in life is partying, your women and your selfish motives. All I wanted was you and my happiness you took both away from me. I spent money on you selflessly you would throw in my face. When I would cry for you. I have nothing left in this world to live for after this. I wish you had loved me like I loved you. I dreamt of our future. I dreamt f our success. I leave this place with nothing but broken dreams and empty promises. All I want now is to go to sleep and never wake up again. I am nothing. I had everything. I felt so alone even while with you. You made me feel alone and vulnerable. I am so much more than this"

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

Jiah Khan went unnoticed after her big debut Nishabd

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

JIAH KHAN: A SUICIDE CASE?
Sometime in 2012, Rabia Khan, former starlet and aspiring documentary maker, mother of three beautiful daughters, wrote on her blog Food for Soul: The outside world’s influence will not affect us, if we can have a control of our inner world….I try this by starting my day by saying, “This is going to be a great fun, I’m going to be happy doing this, everything will start to go my way!” By doing this I have set my own terms for the day. This will allow us to control our circumstances, instead of being controlled by them.” According to Rabia, she wanted her daughters to write down their negative thoughts on a piece of paper and burn it. This exercise, she believed, would exorcise all negative energies and help them get a grip on their lives. Months later, her 25-year-old talented daughter, Jiah, unable to cope with her circumstances, hanged herself in her bedroom. And no, she did not leave a note behind that could be destroyed with all her unhappy thoughts. A distraught Rabia told the police in her statement: “She was fed up with the struggle… she was besotted with Bollywood, but Bollywood had nothing to offer her.”

Jiah Khan will be best remembered for her debut opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd. Ram Gopal Varma, who cast her as an Indian Lolita, tweeted after news of her death became public: “She was depressed about her career and scared for her future.” The “spunkly debutante,” he added, had confessed to him that “everyone around her made her feel like a failure.”

While it is impossible to gauge what triggered her desperate final act, a reconstruction of the last six years of Jiah Khan’s young life, reveals a troubling portrait of great ambition thwarted at every step and a string of abortive relationships that pretty much left her emotionally rudderless.

Downhill from Nishabd
One-film wonder is a cliché in the film industry. The actress certainly did not want that tag attached to her, but at the same time failed to leverage her big debut.

Jiah’s second shot at box office was with the colossal hit Ghajini (2008) where she played the second lead. Ghajini producer Madhu Mantena reportedly signed her for a three-film deal right after. But for reasons best known to Mantena—his phone remained switched off all of yesterday--the deal never materialised.

More damaging for Jiah was her unceremonious ouster from UTV’s Chance Pe Dance (2010) directed by Ken Ghosh after the film was almost complete. The production house had signed a three-film deal which too never fructified.

Reportedly, her co-star in the film, Shahid Kapoor did not see eye to eye with Jiah, and UTV was compelled to give her the marching orders. Yesterday Shahid tweeted his condolences, terming her death: “Very disturbing.”

There were nine more offers, but most of them not to her liking. Though in Housefull (2010) she managed to swing a scene where she appeared in a bikini. Something she was evidently unhappy about. Unwilling to give up on her film career, Jiah went back to the Lee Starsberg institute in New York to complete a course in acting which she had left midway when RGV cast her in Nishabd. She expected her colleagues and producers to give her a rousing welcome.

But reality was a different beast. Sources close to Jiah say she returned from the US with greater resolve, making all the right moves by signing up with an international talent management agency, sprucing up her website and reverting to her original name, Nafisa.

An official from the talent agency said, “When she came back, she made it clear that she wanted to work with the best in the industry, be a part of good cinema. She insisted that didn’t want to do any dodgy movies. She insisted that she had age on her side.”

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

After her return from new York, Jiah also reached out to Ghajini director A R Murgadoss. “She sent me a message asking me if there was any role down south,” said the filmmaker, who never met her after the success party of Ghajini. Producer Sheetal Talwar who knew her, echoed: “A year ago when I met her socially, she seemed upbeat about her chances in Bollywood.”

Jiah recently signed a three-film deal with Ratan Jain’s son-in-law Siddharth, hoping to get third time lucky. According to Siddharth, what was noticeably different about Jiah was her unwillingness to compromise. “Money was never on her mind when she met for narrations. Let’s say she was creatively inclined. But she was also very, very choosy about her roles.” In Bollywood parlance, an actress who has no work has no right to be picky about her films.

Despite the mounting odds, Jiah held on to hope with alarming naivete. In fact, when a leading TV channel offered her a role in a dance reality show, she turned it down. “She told the producers that she was still keen to give her big screen career a shot,” said a source close to the developments.

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

Last hope dashed
“Jiah, who had appeared as a child actor in Mani Rathnam’s Dil Se, believed that a Southern detour would make her more appealing to Bollywood. Unfortunately, she did not get any meaty roles in Hyderabad or Chennai. All that she got were item numbers in big-budget projects because of her raw sensuality,” a Hyderabad-based celebrity manager, who worked with her in the past, said.

On the weekend before she killed herself, Jiah was in Hyderabad for an audition. According to sources, she was offered an item song in a big-budget movie, featuring a Telugu super star. Even though this work had been hard to come by, Jiah was worried about her image as an actor. “She was keen on shedding her sultry image. She wanted directors to identify her talent as an actor,” a source close to her who did not wish to be identified, said.

Earlier this year, she had almost agreed to perform an item number for superstar Venkatesh’s movie Shadow, directed by Mehar Ramesh. But she backed out at the last moment. She was even offered the second lead in another superstar, Pawan Kalyan’s Telugu film Panjaa in 2011. But she was not keen on taking up that role either.

Among the very few Jiah befriended down south, was Telugu star Navdeep, who she had met at a fashion show a year ago. On Sunday, when she was in Hyderabad, she met Navdeep over lunch and revealed to him that her younger sister would be getting engaged later this month.

“She also told me she’d got an offer to perform a dance number in a big film. She was quite excited about it, and told me that she would disclose the details after signing the contract in a couple of days”, Navdeep told Mumbai Mirror.
Somehow, between the time she left Hyderabad and reached Mumbai, everything had changed. In her statement to the police Rabia said her unconventionally beautiful daughter had been rejected by southern producers for main leads as “she was too thin.” In the Mumbai film industry of course there is no such thing as being “too thin.”

Mother and daughter had a long, heart-to-heart chat that same evening, when the former allegedly pleaded with her to move on from Bollywood and try a career in interior design instead. This was a change for Rabia Khan too—a failed starlet herself, she had all along been instrumental in pushing her young daughter into the limelight

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

A history of heartbreak
Jiah came from a broken home. In some of her interviews she spoke of the bitterness she carried in her heart about her father Ali Rizvi Khan who “abandoned” her family in London when she was just threemonths old. Her mother later remarried but Jiah’s step father too abandoned them.

Over these six years since Nishabd, the actress had been linked with several men - Jaspreet Walia (Bunty Walia’s younger brother, Sahil Peerzada (Gauhar Khan’s ex boyfriend), she was rumoured to be involved with a much older industrialist in UK. But more recently, she was in a serious, and from the looks of it, mercurial relationship with Aditya Panscholi’s son Sooraj.

Some of her closest friends say, Jiah, who was an “extremely sensitive girl,” found it hard to tackle the heartbreaks. Sooraj, who was questioned by the police for several hours yesterday, is gearing up for his Bollywood debut in a Salman Khan production. According to sources, though the couple did not have parental nod, Sooraj always introduced her to his friends as “Nafisa, my girlfriend.”

But of late, Sooraj had been trying to ease out of the relationship. And the timing could not be worse. According to the police, upon her return to the city from Hyderabad, Jiah called up Sooraj and tried to meet him. In his statement to the police he said, he was too busy to meet her. Jiah went back to her Juhu home - which was now empty because her mother was at a dinner hosted by Anju Mahendroo, where among others, Sooraj’s dad Aditya Panscholi too was present.

Back home and alone in the Juhu flat, she embarked upon a series of text messages to Sooraj. The emotional exchange and phone calls between 9 pm and 10.53 pm, appears typical of two young lovers caught in a tiff.

In one of her messages Jiah accused Sooraj of emotionally distancing himself from her: “U R getting too cold.” In another message she complained: “U R getting too close to Neelu.”

Sooraj responded: “There has been a misunderstanding. Let’s sort it out.” Aware that his words were failing to pacify her, Sooraj sent a bouquet of flowers to her house at 10 pm. Jiah answered the door but flung the bouquet right back at the messenger. An hour later, even as her mother was returning from her dinner, Jiah Khan hanged herself with a dupatta. On her twitter page, Jiah had introduced herself as an “actor... poet...singer..musician..and dreamer... life through my rose coloured glasses ;-) …” Somewhere down the line, those glasses had lost their tint.

COURTESY: Authors: BY Ketan Ranga, Vickey Lalwani, Ankur Pathak, P Pavan, Mehul S Thakkar

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

Forensic expert suggests 'homicidal hanging' could have killed Jiah Khan

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

Forensic expert suggests 'homicidal hanging' could have killed Jiah Khan

According to the report, experts at FSL received nail clippings from Jiah’s right and left hands after she was found hanging in her Juhu flat on June 3. The autopsy was conducted at JJ Post Mortem Centre on June 4, and subsequently the samples were sent for testing on June 5 to FSL. In their report dated August 16, the experts pointed out that they had found bloodstains on the nail samples from both hands. Human tissue matter was also detected. The group of the blood obtained from the nail samples, however, could not be determined.

Armed with these findings, Rabiya Khan, Jiah’s mother approached an independent forensic expert, Prof (Dr) R K Sharma, who is president of the Indian Association of Medico Legal Experts and former head of the department of forensic medicine and toxicology in AIIMS, Delhi. Sharma has raised serious doubts over the suicide and in his interim report has concluded that ‘homicidal hanging in this case may be a strong possibility’.

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

Forensic expert suggests 'homicidal hanging' could have killed Jiah Khan

Pointing out grievous lapses in the way in which the samples were tested and preserved, he has asked to watch the video recording of the autopsy conducted at JJ Postmortem Centre, before submitting his final report.

‘Definitely murdered’
Speaking to MiD DAY, Rabiya Khan said, “My daughter was definitely murdered and the police have hidden the facts – this is ultimate proof that somebody else was involved and killed her. Why didn’t the forensics experts examine the DNA on the human tissue found in her nails, to ascertain whose it was?”

Rabiya’s lawyer Dinesh Tiwari added, “We received the FSL report a fortnight ago, and the same was sent to Dr Sharma for his expert opinion. His findings have raised serious concerns for us and accordingly we have written a letter to FSL, Kalina asking them not to destroy the samples collected from Jiah that were sent to them for testing.”

Tiwari added, “We are moving court soon and would plead to the court to allow us to get a copy of the video recording of the autopsy. Also, if the need arises, we may even insist on the exhumation of the corpse.” Arun Shankarrao Bhagat, senior police inspector from Juhu police station, said, “I cannot comment on this case at this moment as I am on bandobast duty. I cannot say anything unless I go through the case papers.” Additional Commissioner of Police (western region) Vishwas Nangre Patil said, “I will find out from the concerned officers about the same.”

Jiah Khan: A Story Untold

Forensic expert suggests 'homicidal hanging' could have killed Jiah Khan

Dr R K Sharma's observations:

Post-mortem report
The following points need special mention:

>> The contusion, which is very clearly shown in photographs on the left arm posterior aspect, (approx size 5x3 cm) is not mentioned in the post mortem report
>> Eyes closed, tongue inside, conjunctiva pale and absence of saliva are NOT signs of asphyxia
>> Two abraded ecchymosis [a black-and-blue or purple spot] (size of 0.3 cm) on the lower lip were not cut to know freshness and extent
>> Both lungs were congested and collapsed. This is not a feature of asphyxia. Weight of lungs is not mentioned, which is very crucial.
>> Since in this case alcohol has been detected in high concentration in the stomach, doctors who conducted post-mortem failed to notice any smell.

JIAH KHAN: MURDER OR SUICIDE?

Report on viscera and other biological samples The following points need special mention: The concentration of alcohol keeps on decreasing day by day as alcohol is volatile, and no special preservation technique or preservative like sodium fluoride was used in this case; it can be safely assumed that alcohol concentration in viscera, tissues and blood would be significantly higher on date of incident (June 3). It took 18 days to analyse the samples, a process that normally takes not more than 4-6 hours. Examination of nail clippings showed human tissue that was analysed for blood grouping, which has no significance as we have better techniques available like DNA fingerprinting. Why were the samples destroyed when they yielded results of human tissue? It is a gross lapse on part of FSL. It took 39 days to analyse samples, which also put this report in serious doubt. Blood took 39 days to analyse, just to determine the blood group, and they could not do Rh factor test. It is just appalling. It takes five minutes to do this test. -

JIAH KHAN: MURDER OR SUICIDE?

Final view
>> Post-mortem examination was not done properly, as injuries on the body are missed out. It is essential to examine video recordings to appreciate injuries present on the body
>> The deceased was incapacitated because of high alcohol concentration in her body
>> Presence of injuries may be reflective of struggle, or person holding her tightly for suspension
>> In such circumstances, it is possible for an able bodied person to hang an incapacitated person.
>> Investigations at FSL are not done properly as per scientific procedure. Non-submission of nail clippings for DNA analysis is a grave error. Destruction of sample is not acceptable.

Final Recommendation
>> It is very essential to examine a video–recording of the post mortem examination to reach the correct cause of death. Homicidal hanging in this case may be a strong possibility.
>> I will submit my final report after examination of video recording.

Medico-legal expert
Dr RK Sharma’s observations:
>> A contusion on left arm, visible in photographs, is not mentioned in post-mortem report
>> Eyes closed, tongue inside mouth and absence of saliva are not signs of asphyxia
>> Both lungs were congested and collapsed. This is not a feature of asphyxia
>> The deceased was incapacitated because of high alcohol concentration present in body
>> Presence of injuries may be reflective of struggle/holding person tightly for suspension
>> In such circumstances, it is possible for an able-bodied person to hang an incapacitated person

June 4
Autopsy of Jiah Khan conducted at JJ mortuary

June 5
Nail clippings sent to Kalina FSL for testing

Aug 17
FSL report submitted to the police, stating human tissue matter and blood detected in nail samples

The other side
A senior official from the biological division of FSL clarified, “The samples collected at the post mortem centre were not taken properly, as the nail was clipped along with the skin. On our examination, we found that the human tissue was that of the deceased, and hence even the DNA reports were inconclusive. Also, the blood stain on the nails matched with that of the deceased, as her blood group was A.”

Jiah Khan's letter released to the media by her mother

You destroyed my life, says Jiah Khan's suicide note

People think I want publicity from talking about Jiah Khan: Sooraj Pancholi

Sooraj Pancholi said: "I miss her. I miss her everyday of my life. I am missing her while I am sitting with you right now."

 Sooraj Pancholi, who was charged with abetting Jiah Khan’s suicide, says he feels it’s better that he speaks less about the late actress as people are misunderstanding it as a way for “publicity”. Actor Sooraj Pancholi, who is making his film debut with “Hero” and who was charged with abetting Jiah Khan’s suicide, says he feels it’s better that he speaks less about the late actress as people are misunderstanding it as a way for “publicity”. “Recently, I had tried to talk about the incident but people started to think that I want publicity from this topic. So I decided that the lesser I talk about it, the better it is,” Sooraj said when asked about difficulties in overcoming the hardships related to the case. Sooraj and his “Hero” co-actor Athiya Shetty addressed a press conference here on Tuesday. Jiah had reportedly committed suicide in 2013. She was in a relationship with Sooraj and according to reports, her suicide letter and her last few phone messages had strong links to involvement of Sooraj behind her decision.

Sooraj was subsequently arrested, but was later released. During a promotional event last week, Sooraj had said: “My name will always be associated with her and I have no guilt for that. I am happy that something at least stays with me. I am sad that she ended her life. But at least her name is with me and I have no problems with it. “I miss her. I miss her everyday of my life. I am missing her while I am sitting with you right now.”

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES: VIVEKA BABAJEE

2. Viveka Babajee
T'Town Times: A Miss Mauritius World 1993 and Miss Mauritius 1994 winner, Viveka achieved fame in India after her famous KamaSutra ad. She also appeared in music videos for Daler Mehndi's 'Boom Boom' and Harbhajan Mann's 'Hai Meri Billo'. She was a famous model and has walked the ramp for top designers including Ritu Kumar, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Rohit Bal, Suneet Varma, JJ Valaya and Tarun Tahiliani. She also worked as an anchor for Fashion TV, India. She made her Bollywood debut with 'Yeh Kaisi Mohabbat Hai' in 2002.
Tragedy: Viveka was 37 when she committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in her apartment on 25 June 2010. Although police reports state that a suicide note was recovered blaming her boyfriend Gautam Vohra, no case was registered against him. It was alleged that she killed herself due to depression.

BOLLYWOOD SUICIDES: VIVEKA BABAJEE

Mumbai:  The mysterious and suggestive note allegedly penned by supermodel Viveka Babajee in her personal diary before her June 2010 suicide will come under fresh scrutiny now. Khar police revealed yesterday that they would analyse samples of handwriting from Vijay Palande, Gautam Vora and Simrin Sud, all three arrested in connection with the double murders of Arun Tikku and Karan Kakkad.

The objective of the analysis is to check if the handwriting of any of the three match with that found in the note that was till now believed to have been written by Babajee herself. The note had said, 'Gautam Vora, you killed me' and almost led to the implication of Vora for Babajee's death. The case of Babajee's unexpected death had been shut down by Khar police owing to the lack of rock-solid evidence against Vora.

Besides, Babajee's family had not filed a complaint against the man. But following the investigation and arrest of the deceased Babajee's boyfriend Gautam Vora in connection to the murder cases, Khar police have reopened investigations of the model's suicide and are revaluating the case, and are going through all the evidence with a fine toothcomb. The Khar police will also be recording fresh statements from all the witnesses again. Pradeep Sharma, owner of Babajee's apartment, Kartik Jobanpura, her ex-boyfriend and three others - Rohit Jugraj, Shweta Bhiku and Damyanti Babajee - had all been questioned after Babajee's shocking suicide.

'Dated Simrin'
Meanwhile, stockbroker Gautam Vora confirmed with cops on Monday that he had been in a relationship with Simrin Sud before he met supermodel Viveka Babajee. Under duress, Vora spilled the beans on his string of romantic relationships, saying that after he broke up with Sud, he was involved with Babajee, but broke up with her as well before moving on to another model. But he ultimately rekindled his romance with Sud. "We are now trying to find out Vora's exact link with Palande and Sud," said a Crime Branch officer.

On Tuesday, Crime Branch officers revealed that though they had called Vora for questioning on Saturday, he tried to wriggle out of the appointment by saying that he had to get to Delhi for a meeting. Instead of waiting for him to show up, cops went over to his residence on Sunday night and detained him. "If we would have waited for Vora to come to us, we would still be looking for him. He was planning to leave the city and apply for anticipatory bail," said a crime branch officer. 34-year-old Vora, who was arrested on Monday for allegedly helping Arun Tikku murder accused Palande escape from police custody, had quit his family's stockbroking firm ULJK days ago.

Unclear motive
The Crime Branch officers who are investigating the double murders revealed that they had found sufficient documentary evidence to nail Palande for the murder of Tikku, including a motive. However, they do not have sufficient documentary evidence yet to prove the motive behind Palande's murder of Kakkad. Palande has reiterated that he killed Kakkad to lay hands on his money, but no evidence has yet been found to indicate that this was the motive behind the murder. "We are not relying on Palande's statement, and have been in search of documentary evidence such as business papers or property deeds, which could confirm Palande's claim," said a Crime Branch officer.

New twist in Viveka Babajee suicide case

By Nazia Khan Sunday, 04 July 2010    

Vivek Oberoi

 

Read more about Vivek Oberoi

Over a week after supermodel Viveka Babajee committed suicide, there are surprising new developments in the case. Her family is rubbishing the claims of stockbroker Gautam Vora who had denied being in a relationship with the model, and had said that she was depressed.

Late yesterday (July 4), Dale Bhagwagar, spokesperson for Viveka Babajee's family, made the following statement:

"On June 25, supermodel Viveka Babajee was found dead under mysterious circumstances. When it came to be known that Viveka was in love with a guy named Gautam Vora, the police and media began to collect further information in the said matter.

At this time, Gautam Vora is said to have immediately deleted his Facebook account. After this, he was reported untraceable for two days. When he emerged on the scene, it came to be known that he had applied for anticipatory bail.

Gautam strongly denied any serious relationship with Viveka Babajee, stating, they were just "good friends" and nothing more. In propagating this, he was aided by his friend Viren Shah, who also gave several statements and media interviews denying that Gautam and Viveka were ever in love.

Both Gautam and his friend Viren stressed in their interviews that Viveka Babajee was "depressed" and thus committed suicide. This 'depression theory' was doing the rounds so strongly for the first few days after her demise, that even the police seemed to have been influenced by it.

But after Viveka's funeral, Chautha and last rights were over, through my common friend Mr Jatin Kumar, her family requested me (Dale Bhagwagar) to intervene and put forth some hard facts in front of the media, on their behalf. Addressing the issues as the family's spokesperson, I revealed that contrary to the belief about Viveka being depressed, she was very cheerful, motivated, courageous and inspiring, till we suddenly heard of the mishap.

I'd stated that according to her mother Mrs Dayawanti Babajee who stays in Mauritius, Viveka had discussed her boyfriend Gautam several times with her, and told her mother that Gautam had proposed, and she had agreed to marry him. Viveka had also made Gautam speak to her mother once over the phone. According to her mother, Gautam had asked Viveka to go for a fertility test to see if she could bear him a baby and also that the couple had matched their horoscopes and were happy that most points, except one, had tallied.

But even after these disclosures, through his friend Viren Shah, Gautam Vora continued to deny his close proximity to Viveka.

With the cooperation of Viveka's technical advisor and administrator, her family has managed to access her Gmail as well as Facebook accounts, which point towards the fact that the couple were not just friends, but love-birds.

Apart from various emails which indicate that Gautam Vora was madly in love with Viveka, there is also photographic evidence which further signifies their relationship as a couple in love.

The Babajee family feels that this new evidence, which they have managed to procure from Viveka's Gmail and Facebook accounts, should leave no doubt that Gautam had lied and misguided, both the police and the media, about the nature of his relationship with Viveka, while spreading the 'depression theory' after her death.

In Viveka's Gmail account, the Babajee family has also found some other shocking obscene photographs which Gautam had sent to Viveka from his BlackBerry phone. But since these photographs are disgustingly pornographic in nature, we haven't made them public.

Because of the material records available in the said matter, and after scrutinising the statements made by Gautam Vora, as is appearing in the media reports, it largely appears that Gautam Vora is hiding the truth, for reasons best known to him.

Therefore, the Babajee family requests Gautam Vora to immediately approach the police and come out with all the truth about Viveka. Without further delay, they also want Gautam Vora to confess to the police about what exactly happened in the last meeting on the night before the incident, because from his behaviour, it seems that there is much more than what meets the eye. The Babajee family wants Gautam Vora to come up with the truth and nothing but the truth, about the death of Viveka Babajee."