Tunisha's death could be murder, Sheezan tried to convert her: Mom

Vanita Sharma, mother of actor Tunisha Sharma who allegedly died by suicide on a television show set in neighbouring Palghar last week, on Friday said her death could be a case of murder, and also accused co-actor Sheezan Khan and his family of trying to force her daughter into religious conversion.

She also claimed that her daughter had checked the mobile phone of Khan, with whom she was in a relationship but broke up recently, and found his WhatsApp chats with some other woman, and when Tunisha confronted Khan about it, he slapped her, stating that she was free to do whatever she wanted.

Tunisha, 21, who acted in the show Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul, was found hanging in the washroom on the set of the serial near Vasai in Palghar on December 24. Khan was arrested on Sunday on the charge of abetting her suicide. He is currently in police custody.

"Tunisha was not someone who could commit suicide. On the day she died, she had told me that she wanted to go to Chandigarh to celebrate Christmas for two days," her mother told reporters at her residence at Bhayandar in Thane district.

"It can be a case of murder. The act of Sheezan Khan getting Tunisha's (body) down and taking it to a hospital is doubtful. What happened in that 15 minutes needs to be probed," she said.

According to her, when Tunisha first told her that she liked Khan and wanted to marry him, she had asked her to focus on her career and decide about it later.

"Sheezan demanded costly gifts from Tunisha. She used to give such expensive gifts to him. Both of them would frequently stay at the residence of each other's families. However, they broke up later," Sharma said.

"Once, when Tunisha checked the mobile phone of Sheezan, she found his WhatsApp chats with some other woman. When she sought explanation from him about it, Sheezan slapped her said she can do whatever she wants," she claimed.

The deceased actor's mother said when she personally asked Khan about it, he told her that he cannot do anything about it.

"A day before her death, I found that Tunisha was disturbed and depressed. I advised her to take things easy," she added.

She was very sensitive, Sharma said, adding that over the last couple of months her behaviour had started changing and she was getting closer to Khan's family and also following their customs.

"The family members of Sheezan were also mixing with her freely. It indicated that she was gradually being converted. It could be a case of attempted religious conversion," she said.

When asked if Khan pressured her to convert religion, she answered in the affirmative.

Sharma alleged that Khan's mother was also responsible for the entire episode. She demanded that his family members be named as accused in the case.

On Friday, Tunisha's uncle Pawan Sharma had urged the police to investigate the case with the 'murder angle'.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale had met the deceased actor's family at Bhayandar on Friday and sought strict punishment for the accused.

He also demanded Rs 25 lakh compensation for Sharma's mother.

"Tunisha committed suicide as Sheezan deceived her. He should be given the strictest punishment," Athawale had told reporters.