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Actor Sheezan Khan's family members on Monday claimed he was being falsely implicated in the case of death of co-star Tunisha Sharma by the latter's mother.
Addressing a press conference, Khan's mother and two sisters said Sharma was "like their family member" and alleged the deceased actor's mother used to force her to work even as Tunisha wanted to enjoy life.
Sharma, 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 December 25 on the charge of abetting her suicide.
Tunisha Sharma's mother Vanita Sharma last week said her daughter's death could be a case of murder, and also accused Khan and his family of trying to force her daughter into religious conversion.
She also claimed that Tunisha 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.
When Tunisha confronted Khan about it, he slapped her, stating that she was free to do whatever she wanted, Vanita Sharma had alleged.
However, Khan's sister Falaq Naaz, who is also an actor, on Monday refuted the allegations and said they could never see Tunisha in pain as she was "like their family member".
Naaz said Tunisha and her mother used to come to their home on many occasions. "We never forced anyone to do anything," she said.
Khan's mother said Tunisha's mother should produce evidence for the allegations that she has been making against him.
On the allegation that Khan had slapped Tunisha once during a shoot, the accused actor's mother asked, "Why had Vanita Sharma not complained to us or slapped Sheezan?"
Naaz said everyone knew how Tunisha's mother used to call her many times in a day.
"We also want justice for Tunisha, but her mother is trying to falsely implicate Sheezan in the case, that is not correct," she said.
"We had decided to give Tunisha a surprise on her birthday on January 4. Her mother also know very well, she was like our younger sister. We had spent around six months with Tunisha which she enjoyed and we are proud of it," Naaz said.
On the allegations that Tunisha was being forced to wear a hijab and visit dargah, she said, "We never asked her to do anything."
Referring to a picture of Tunisha wearing a hijab going viral on social media, Khan's another sister claimed the actor had worn the head cover at the time of a shoot.
"In this case, we just want to say Tunisha was like our family member and we were taking care of her," she claimed.