Sooraj Pancholi with folded hands inside the premises of Siddhivanayak Temple.
Sooraj Pancholi visited Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai a day after his acquittal by the CBI court.
Earlier this week on Friday, a special CBI court acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi, who was accused of abetting the suicide of his then-girlfriend and actor Jiah Khan, citing ‘paucity of evidence’. On June 3, 2013, Jiah was found dead at her Juhu home in Mumbai. She was 25. Based on a letter seized a week later, purportedly written by her, Mumbai Police had booked Sooraj under section 306 (abetment to suicide) and arrested him. He was later released on bail. After the acquittal, Sooraj Pancholi had told a portal that he will be visiting Siddhivanayak temple to seek blessings from Lord Ganesha. Now News18 has accessed a video that shows Sooraj from inside the temple’s premises.
The clip shows Sooraj Pancholi standing in front of the Ganesha idol with folded hands as the priest drapes him with a blanket. The actor also bowed his head to mark his respect and devotion. Later, the priest was seen applying teeka on Sooraj Pancholi’s forehand. Check out the exclusive video here:
In a different video that was captured by the paparazzi, Sooraj Pancholi was seen arriving the temple in his car amid police security. It also showed him leaving the premises but not before interacting with some people there and posing for the camera. He also carried some temple souvenirs in his hands.
The actor, who was cleared of the abetment of suicide charges on Friday by a special CBI court, said that the verdict took 10 ‘painful years and sleepless nights’. Sooraj added that he hopes no one else goes through something like this, while wondering ‘who will give me these 10 years of my life back to me.’
“The Verdict has taken 10 long painful years and sleepless nights, But today I have not only won this case against me but I have also won my dignity and confidence back, it took a lot of courage to face the world with such heinous allegations, I hope and pray to God that nobody goes through what I have gone through at such a young age, I don’t know who will give me these 10 years of my life back to me, but I am glad that this has finally come to an end not only for me but specially for my family. There is nothing bigger than peace in this world,” he said.
Bollywood actress Jiah Khan was found dead at her Juhu home on June 3, 2013. A six-page suicide note purportedly penned by her was recovered. The letter narrated her “intimate relationship, physical abuse, and mental and physical torture” allegedly at the hands of Sooraj which let her to take the decision.
It was stated that she was cheated on and abused by him and that he had even raped her, following which she had to undergo an abortion. He was even arrested but was later released on bail. Following his bail, Jiah’s mother moved to the Bombay High Court and sought a transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The central investigating agency then filed a charge-sheet in December 2015 in which they charged Sooraj with abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.
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