Jiah Khan case: US consulate seeks Home Minister’s nod to probe death
The Jiah Khan case has taken a new international twist after the dead actress’ mother Rabiya Khan asked the US to intervene and has sought help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to aid in the investigations in the case of her daughter’s demise.
The US government’s legal attaché at its New Delhi embassy and chief of American Citizen Services Unit at the Mumbai consulate Rosemary Macray have forwarded their appeal to the state Home ministry, seeking approval to involve the FBI and provide forensic and technical assistance to the city police in the case.
On Monday (January 27), Rabiya and her lawyer Dinesh Tiwari were called to the Consulate office at Bandra-Kurla Complex to inform her that they had sought approval from Home Minister RR Patil. The offer to help came after Rabiya wrote a letter to US Ambassador to India Nancy J Powell last October asking for help, as Jiah was an American passport holder.
Confirming the same, Rabiya said, “Once the Indian authorities agree, the FBI will assist in the probe,” She added that in a week’s time, she would file a petition in the High Court, asking for a fresh probe, saying the police suppressed facts into its probe. Rabiya said that the police had not investigated the case thoroughly.
“If Jiah committed suicide, how could the blood in the other room belong to her?” she questioned about the presence of Jiah’s blood samples in two different rooms, adding that the police had not explained that in the chargesheet. Another important aspect that the police failed to explain was the injury marks on Jiah’s face and neck that were present in the photographs taken by the police, she added.
“I want to find out if Jiah was killed by someone and I want the police to investigate this,” said Rabiya. Her lawyer Tiwari also claimed that the statements taken by the police of witnesses were completely contrary to their statements in the chargesheet filed by the cops. “The facts have been changed and there are many such reasons why we want the FBI to intervene.”
