she was murdered, disputing suicide finding

The family of a Bollywood star found dead are adamant she didn’t take her own life.
Jiah Khan, 25, was found dead in a bedroom of her family’s Mumbai home just before midnight in June 2013, The Mirror reports.
The Guardian reports Ms Khan, who appeared in three Hindi films from 2007-2010, was found with injury marks on her face and arm.
There were also “unexplained” spots of blood found; a broken drawer handle and the balcony windows were unlocked.

Jiah Khan and Sooraj Pancholi. Source: Getty

Four years on from Ms Khan’s death her mother, Rabbiya, refuses to believe she took her own life.
Ms Khan’s sister, Kavita, said: “We knew she couldn’t have done it”.
Kavita found a six-page letter five days after her sister’s death.
The note was not addressed to anyone, but reportedly indicated Ms Khan was unhappy and planned on taking her own life.

Mr Pancholi has been charged with abetting suicide. Source: Getty

Ms Khan mentioned an abortion she had during her relationship with her then 22-year-old actor boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi. She also said Mr Pancholi’s lifestyle made her scared and unhappy.
But Mrs Khan believes the letter was not a suicide note, but actually a farewell before her planned departure to study in London.
She still suspects foul play was involved in her daughter’s death and said the first police officer on the scene in 2013 told her the death appeared to be suspicious.
A tracksuit Ms Khan was seen wearing on CCTV footage only 30 minutes before she died also went missing and police said it was never recovered from the scene.

The Khan family attend a condolence meeting not long after Jiah's death. Source: Getty

Officers also found no fingerprints in the room where she died, not even hers.
In an open letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September, Mrs Khan alleged India’s Central Bureau of Investigation had distorted certain information deliberately and her daughter was murdered but made to look like she had taken her own life.

The CBI ruled out murder in 2015, and in a charge sheet stated Ms Khan’s “intimate relationship” with Mr Pancholi, and the physical abuse, mental and physical torture allegedly led to her committing suicide.
Mrs Khan has openly accused Mr Pancholi of being involved in her daughter’s death – an accusation which saw the Pancholi family strike back with a A$20.4m defamation lawsuit.
The Pancholi family, regarded as a Bollywood powerhouse, also claimed Ms Khan had attempted to kill herself in the past and was “emotionally unstable”.

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The Pancholi family claim Ms Khan was 'emotionally unstable'. Source: Getty

Mrs Khan enlisted the help of British forensics Jason Payne-James to investigate and in September 2016 he concluded Ms Khan’s death was not unequivocally suicide.
Mr Payne-James said marks on Ms Khan’s lips; lower face and upper arm indicated blunt force trauma or assault.

Mr Pancholi will face court. Source: Getty

Mr Pancholi has since been charged with abetting Ms Khan’s suicide. In late August the Bombay High Court referred his trial to a lower court to proceed with the trial.
The Khan family say they will keep pushing for a conclusive investigation.