Sheezan Mohammad Khan was arrested by police after a case of abetment to suicide was registered against him.
Khan was arrested in relation to the death of his co-star Tunisha Sharma, who allegedly died by suicide on the set of a TV show in Vasai, Maharashtra’s Palghar district, on Saturday.
Khan was produced before the Vasai magistrate’s court, which remanded him to police custody till December 28.
Reports have emerged that suggest that Sharma, who is only 20, and Khan, who is 27, were in a relationship. However, they apparently broke up a fortnight ago.
While speculations were rife about Sharma being pregnant, the post-mortem, conducted at the government-run Sir JJ Hospital at Byculla in Mumbai, suggested she was not pregnant. It also suggested asphyxia or suffocation as the reason for death.
The last rites for the young actress are expected to be carried out on Monday.
The police have registered a case of abetment to suicide under Section 306 (IPC) against Khan. Khan was named by Sharma’s mother in her complaint.
Sharma’s mother claimed that her daughter and Khan were in a relationship. She blamed Khan for her daughter’s extreme step.
According to the police, Khan and Sharma were co-stars in the show Ali Baba: Dastaan-e-Kabul. Suspicion grew after she had gone to the washroom on the set in Naigaon.
When policemen from Waliv police broke down the door, they found Sharma hanging in the washroom. Though she was rushed to a local hospital, Sharma was declared dead on admission.
“The investigation is underway. The mobile phones of the suspect (Khan) and the deceased (Sharma) have been seized. There’s no angle of any other affair, blackmailing, or love jihad as of now…our investigations are underway,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Chandrakant Jadhav.
While Sharma’s colleagues claimed she had died by suicide, the police had not found any suicide notes so far. The police said they are not ruling out any angles and are investigating all aspects of the case.
Meanwhile, the Waliv police station has detained several people in connection with the suicide, including the show’s crew and cast.
Sharma appeared in several Bollywood movies, including Fitoor, Baar Baar Dekho, Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh and Dabangg 3.
Sharma started her career as a child actor in the ‘Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap’. She has featured in many Hindi movies, mostly playing the childhood roles of popular actor Katrina Kaif’s characters.
She has also worked in shows like ‘Ishq Subhan Allah’, ‘Gabbar Poonchwala’, ‘Sher-e-Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh’, and ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’.
The actor also appeared in Bollywood movies including ‘Fitoor’, ‘Baar Baar Dekho’, ‘Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh’, and ‘Dabangg 3’.