Bollywood Actress’s Mysterious Death & Her Diary That Exposed Secrets With Elite Family Son

Bada bing, bada boom. There was a 21-year-old by the name of. Kavita. She was on a flight from London. to Mumbai, India. And it's about a. 9-hour flight to get from one point to. the other. She slept through most of the. flight. And now it's landed. She's. patiently waiting in her seat for that. little seatbelt ding to go off so she. can hop up out, grab her little luggage. from the overhead bin, and start. deboarding the plane. She unlocks her. phone as she's waiting. And it's a. little strange. Her data's not working.

She's not too worried about it. She. tries turning off the airplane mode, turning it back on, turning it off. again. She's still not getting any. signal. Okay, that's fine. Her older. sister Gia actually lives in Mumbai. And. her sister Gia was going to pick her up. at this airport. Even though it's way. past midnight, she didn't have to worry. about getting a taxi, getting an Uber. Her sister was going to meet her. They. even texted right before Kavita got on. this plane from London. She said, "I'm. boarding now. See you on the other. side." Okay, can't wait to see you. Like.

this was a very exciting trip for the. family. Kavita's birthday was coming up. She's going to turn 21. And she wanted. to spend it with her older sister Gia. and her mom who were in Mumbai. So she's in school in London. She's. coming to Mumbai, India. And the. sisters, the family, they were super, super close. So India is her home, home country? No. Oh, okay. Oh, it's very complicated. Okay, so her. sister was born in the US. I don't know. if Kavita was born in the US or in the. UK. But they immigrated to the UK from.

the United States. And then just the. sister moved back to Mumbai. But even. though she was never born or raised in. Mumbai. So I guess not moved back to, but moved to Mumbai. only meeting sister? And her mom goes back and forth between. London and Mumbai. Uh, okay, okay. Yeah, so her mom is in Mumbai right now, right? And they were really close. But. it was rare to see Gia these days cuz. after she moved to Mumbai, you know, it's a 9-hour plane ride. Um, Gia was. actually a an actress in Bollywood, the.

Indian version of Hollywood. Like, think. of it as Hollywood meets K-dramas. They. produce over a thousand movies per year. Like, this is Hollywood on steroids. That is double what Hollywood puts out. in terms of volume. Their audience is. over 3 billion people, and in 2020. alone, they were valued at 1.7 billion. US dollars. Kavita's sister, Gia, used. to live in London, but she moved to. Mumbai with their mom so that she could. pursue her dreams in Bollywood, right? To become an actress. She worked hard.

It's said that Gia's discipline was. unmatched. Like, this girl put in the. work. Everyone praised her, not just for. her talents, but just for her sheer. unthinkable work ethic. So, yeah, a Bollywood-famous actress was. going to pick up Kavita from the airport. like a personal chauffeur, but that's. what sisters do, right? So, Kavita gets. off the plane. She's waiting for her. suitcase at baggage claim. She's trying. to get some internet some signal to pick. back up, but eventually she gives up and. connects to the airport Wi-Fi. She just. wants to let her sister know, "Hey, I've.

landed. I'm going to wait for you at. like gate D." Immediately, every text. message, every call that she had missed. while she was flying was coming into her. phone. Text after text, call after call, missed. calls from her mom, aunt, cousins, random family friends, Instagram DMs, Facebook notifications, even her email. inbox was overflowing. Some from people. she knew, some from complete strangers. And her eyes are just like wildly. scanning through these notifications.

She has no idea why these people want to. reach out to her so badly. And then she collapses on the airport. floor. Just sobbing. Passersby asked her what was wrong. They. tried to offer her help, but she just. pulled herself together and ran straight. out of the airport. She needed to figure. out if it was true. Was her sister, Gia, really dead? She was just 25 years old and Jiah Khan, the Bollywood actress, the daughter, the. beloved sister, was found in the guest. bedroom just an hour before she was due.

to pick up her sister from the airport. She was found dangling from the ceiling. fan. It was originally presumed that the. stress of Bollywood became too much for. her. But when you really look into this case, there are so many unanswered questions, so many little mysteries that don't make. sense, that don't add up. She was found. wearing a completely different outfit. from what she was seen leaving the house. in. She was inches away from two twin. beds, meaning if her survival instinct. had kicked in, which most people's do, she would have easily she could have.

easily changed her mind. Every single light was on in the house, every door was closed, which is very. uncharacteristic of Jiah's home. And the. most confusing part about this case was. that the marks on her neck didn't match. up with the crime scene. Her body was. allegedly covered in cuts and bruises. She had reportedly gotten into a very. big fight with someone just hours before. her death. And the window to that room. that she was found in, wide open, meaning anyone could have been in and. out.

The police immediately ruled out foul. play when there were so many fingers. pointed to foul play. It wasn't until a. couple days later when six pages of. Jiah's personal diary were leaked to the. press and that Jiah's death would be. connected to a very powerful family /. nepotism baby in Bollywood. And it. culminated in one of the biggest. scandals and mysteries in Bollywood and. in India, in the world to date.

As always, full show notes are available. at rottenminglepodcast.com. Um, this case was really, really big. back in 2013, 2014 when it started. happening, especially since some of the. players in this scene or in this case.

are very big names in Bollywood. The. court process actually lasted 10 whole. years, one whole decade, and just at the. end of April of this year was when the. courts came to their final decision on. this case. Wow. Yeah. So, case is finally closed now. Finally, like a month or two ago. Wow. But, you know, the court of public. opinion is never closed and it's still. very divided. There's a couple of main. theories about this case, either she. chose to end things or she was murdered, and I'm going to present both sides of.

the argument as well as other pertinent. background information and details, but. I'm going to leave it up to you. Like, what do you really think happened to. Jiah Khan? Since this did take place in. India, I did get two Indian researchers. to help me with the research. I tried to. get as much as the social and cultural. factors that played into this, but as. always, if there's any information that. I missed or any details that I left out, please feel free to let me know in the. comments. With that being said, let's. get into the story. So, after the death. of a beloved and controversial star,

which side note about the word. controversial, Jiah Khan wasn't. controversial as a person or even as an. actress really, but the media loved to. portray her as a controversial figure. because it would be a lot more. consumable for the general public then. being like, "Oh, this really nice. wholesome actress.". Mhm. So, controversial due to no fault of her. own. When she passed, every magazine, every person, every news outlet that had. originally been making false headlines. at her expense, they are scrambling to.

shower and clutter the internet with. their heartfelt sympathies. There were. conversations, open dialogues about the. pressures, the stress, the public. scrutiny that comes with being this. massive figure in Bollywood. Maybe it's. too much. It can't be good for mental. health. You know the drill. They go through the. whole, "Guys, let's not forget. celebrities are real people, too." And. then they forget about it the next time. someone gets canceled. And then it won't. be brought up again until somebody is. dead. It was that phase. So, 4 days of.

this, just nonstop, "Oh my god, we need. to be more careful about celebrities.". And then boom, the whole story changed. The headlines instantly took a 180. An. explosive document, a piece of evidence, was released by Jiah's mom. Six pages. torn from her personal diary that. detailed her secret relationship with. the son of one of Bollywood's most. influential families. The diary entry. went into great detail about the.

torture, essay, degradation, physical. abuse that was inflicted upon her by. him, the nepo baby. One of the worst and. most traumatic instances being that he. forced her to terminate a pregnancy. And. when the meds stopped working halfway. through, it was a medical termination. He, with no regard to her safety, no. regard to her well-being, prevented her. from going to the hospital even though. she was profusely bleeding and. physically removed the remnants of. the tissue matter from her himself.

Oh my goodness. Now, this secret boyfriend was named in. this letter, and it was Sooraj Pancholi, and all eyes were on Sooraj. Everyone. wanted to know if the allegations were. true. Jiah's doctor came out to confirm. that yes, she in fact did terminate a. pregnancy. It said that Jiah never. wanted to terminate, but Sooraj took her. to the doctor, demanded the medication. himself. He forced Jiah to take it, and. as she's bleeding so much, she calls the. doctor, and he advised both of them,

"You need to go to the hospital. immediately. Like, this is a serious. matter. This is not a joke. Go to the. hospital." Sooraj did not let her. Instead, he waited 3 days to call the. doctor back. He said, "Gia was sitting. on the toilet with, and I quote, half of. it still stuck. inside of her.". Oh my god. The doctor freaked out and told him, "What the hell are you doing? Take her. to the hospital. This is. life-threatening, like life-threatening. She could die. Do you understand me? This is not a joke. This is very. serious. Take her now.".

He did not care. Like this sounds like a. character. If I had to write the most. evil villain boyfriend, that's something. that he would do. That's something that. he would do. It's almost too evil to. even sound real, but it's real. He called his housekeeper into the. bathroom and asked her to help pull the. rest of the tissues out. It's not like they didn't have the money. to visit the hospital. He had wealthy. parents. He had a great job that his. parents got him. And on top of that, he.

had borrowed tons of money from Gia at. this point. Even if he didn't want to. pay the bills, I am absolutely positive. that Gia and her family would have paid. the bills. By some miracle, Gia survives. Sewage said that he didn't want this. baby because he was too young and his. career wasn't stable enough. He said. that he'd rather spend his time working. than spending his time being a father. Gia was devastated. I mean, she was willing to sacrifice. everything, to sacrifice. her career to have this baby, and he. just ripped it away from her. He didn't.

let her have a say in what happened to. her own body. And now, now she was dead. Now, this letter blew open the case. immediately because, remember, like I. said, right after she passed, the whole. narrative, the whole media, the whole. world was saying, "Oh my gosh, the. pressures of being a celebrity, it's so. hard being a woman in the industry.". That was what the conversation was. about. Now, this is in the news and the. tabloids that used to write about Gia's. sex appeal were now writing articles. about her suspicious death because it's.

not even a matter of murder anymore. There is a law in India that. criminalizes aiding and abetting in. someone's death whether even if someone. chooses to end their life themselves. Mhm. So, if you were aiding and abetting in. that process, you could be held. criminally liable as if you were the one. committing murder. Now, it's obviously. not as black and white. Even murder is. not as black and white, but we've seen. it with cases here in the US. It It's. got to be There's got to be a lot of. strong ties. Now, this letter was.

damaging. If Sooraj had tortured her, assaulted her, belittled her, forced her. to terminate her pregnancy against her. will, risked her life during that. termination, that would be enough to. drive someone into having very dark. thoughts. So, it was enough at least to. bring in Sooraj to be investigated. Creating one of the biggest. I don't know if you can even call it a. scandal. I don't know what to call it. One of the biggest mysteries in. Bollywood. But, unfortunately, the case.

gets really, really, really messy really. quickly. Even the letter's validity comes into. question later. Less about the contents. of the letter, but it's a question of. who actually wrote this letter. There's a whole thing about it, okay? Potentially, Jiah did not write the. letter herself. What was in the letter. was most likely true, but, you know, it's it's complicated. But, before we. can get to that, let's start from the. beginning. I think we can all think. whatever we want, but I would just hope. that Jiah's family knew her the best. And Jiah's family was adamant that Jiah.

would absolutely never, ever make this. decision to end things herself. She was. the type of person that went after what. she wanted in life. She was always known. to be so determined and ambitious and. goal-driven, and things just were not. adding up. So, a bit about her upbringing, which is. very pertinent to the story later. because people start going on saying. crazy things about her childhood. Now, Jiah was born in the US in Staten. Island. Her whole family were small-time. actors and actresses.

So, her aunts were small film stars in. Pakistan, and her mom did a few roles in. Bollywood, but retired when she gave. birth to Gia, her first and eldest. daughter. She would go on to have two. more daughters. Out of the three. daughters, Gia, the oldest, was like, "Mom, I'm going to do what you did, but better. No offense, okay? I want to. be the best actress in Bollywood.". And you would think that her mom would. be excited, but she was not excited. Her. mom said, "I was very worried. You know, she told me she wanted to be a film.

actress, and it it's not talent-based in. Bollywood. It's luck. It's connections. That's when I had the one-on-one. conversation with her, and I said, 'Baby, you have to understand what this. industry is really all about.' But, my. daughter had a clear mind. You know, I. told her, 'You know, you're very young. You can always do movies later when. you're older. I want you to finish. college first.' You know, I wanted her. to go into medical sciences. But, she said, 'Mom, I've already. decided.' And what can you do? So, I. told her, 'If that's what you want to. do, then you need to study at the top.

university in the world to enter the. business you want to get into.' The. family ends up moving to London, and. when Gia turns 15 to 16 years old, she. moves all the way back to New York City. by herself to attend the Lee Strasberg. Film Institute in Manhattan. This is a. huge, huge deal. Some of the biggest. names just of all time have walked those. very halls. Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, Chris Evans. They all went to that. school. Gia's mom was a worried, but she. also was very proud of her daughter.

It's like a double-edged sword. You. know, I mean, you're so scared because. that's your child, but then at the same. time, you're like, "Man, how did I raise. this girl? She's crazy. She's just going. after what she wants. Nothing's getting. in her way. It's insane.". Gia's sister said, "Oh, yeah, she was. wild. Like, she's a teenager living in. New York City, and you would imagine. that most 16-year-old kids, they're. alone in New York City, no parental. guidance, they're going to be out having. a freaking blast, partying, being crazy. All she did was work. Just work, go to.

school, work, go to school. And then. Gia's first job was actually through a. friend of her mom's, okay? Her mom is. Rabia, and Rabia's friend had gotten her. a lead female role, which is a huge deal. considering Gia was only 16 years old. She took the offer. Now she's got to. move to Mumbai with her mom to get this. deal done, to film this whole movie. She. gets on set and. yikes, okay? That's all I can describe. it, yikes. She felt so off about this.

movie, her mom felt so off about this. movie, her mom's friend who is the. producer was like, "Oh, yikes.". So the role, I don't know if there were. revisions to the script, I don't know. what was going on, but the role just. kept getting increasingly more. and she's 16. Wow. So everyone is like, "Yikes, this is not. what we want to do." And even though she. signed a contract in Bollywood and. really in any industry like this, signing a contract for something like. this, you get punished as the lead or. any actor in a film if you decide to.

drop out. Like there's not even just. being blacklisted from the industry, which can happen, but there's. contractual reasons. Like you might have. to pay a sum, you might have to do this, you might have to do that. It's really. complicated. But the director let her. off without any consequences because it. was just a. it was truly a weird and unfortunate. situation. I guess originally the script. wasn't supposed to be sexual, but maybe. the studio houses were like, "Yeah, we. need some scenes and stuff." And she's. like, "Okay, I'm 16, I got to go.".

And so for the next 3 years, Gia had no. new roles being offered to her, but. she's in Mumbai and she's just trying to. take whatever job she can get in the. industry. She's just trying to pay the. bills. She doesn't want fast fame. I. mean, there were methods where you could. date a producer, you could date a. director, and. first of all, nothing is wrong with. that. You know, it's a cutthroat. industry, especially for women. Everyone. knows what both parties are getting out. of the relationship, but Gia just um she. just really wanted to make a name for.

herself the right way in her eyes. She's. like, "I just want it to be about me.". And finally, the call comes. She's. casted as the lead female role in the. movie called Speechless. She's 18 years old, and let me read you. the movie blurb so you have an idea. about what this movie is about. He's 60. She's 18. Some love stories are never meant to be. understood. Okay, this is like a horror film. The. movie was about a girl that brings her.

friend to her parents' vacation. destination, like a vacation home. And. the girl and the parents are all there. together, and then one day, the dad is. spying on his daughter's friend, Gia, and she's in the backyard alone, and for. whatever reason, she's watering herself. with a water hose while wearing nothing. but a white oversized button-down shirt. And things just escalate from there. This movie is based on a Hollywood film. called American Beauty. It's just a. remake. It's the same premise, same. movie plot, same everything. This is a.

massive role. She should be proud of it. The movie itself ended up being a flop, but Gia did get really good reviews for. her acting. Critics said, "She's. impressive. She's got attitude. She's. got incredible appeal." She got role. after role, but as her career. progressed, critics and the public. started focusing more on her sex appeal. than they did her actual acting, which. is what happens to a lot a lot of great. actresses. Like, it happened to Margot. Robbie after um The Wolf of Wall Street,

and it takes so much for these women to. do different films to let people know, "Hey, I actually have talent. Thanks.". Um if you could stop just calling me. like a bombshell, goddess, blonde. bombshell. Like guys, I've got a. skillset. I mean, she was a great. actress, obviously, but people just were. not interested in that. They just only. talked about her looks and how she was. and who she was dating and oh, did she. sleep with a producer for this role? Now, the audience, other producers, and.

even her cast and crew all paid more. attention to how she looked than she. acted. The looks and whispers and online. articles start getting more real, more. scary, more dangerous. One night Gia. comes home and her sister Kavita, the. one from the start of the story, she was. visiting Gia in Mumbai. So, she's. staying at Gia's apartment and Gia comes. bursting through the door after work in. tears. And Gia was telling her that this. producer ordered her to strip naked in. front of him during a reading session, like during the round table like. readings or whatever.

Kavita said, "You know, it was. rehearsal." And Gia said that they were. reading the scripts and he asked her to. take her top off along with her bra. She. didn't know what to do. She hesitated. She came home in tears and Gia was. telling me, "The filming hasn't even. begun yet and this is what's happening. Like I can't even imagine what it's. going to be like on set.". When she was asked by the producer to. take her top off, she came home and. cried. The problem is, "I have a. contract that I've signed already. So, if I leave, they can sue me and slander. my name. If I stay, then I'm going to be.

sexually harassed the whole time. It's a. lose-lose situation.". In another movie, the producer put his. arm around Gia's shoulders as if he was. trying to look all chummy chummy with. her and the photos were released and. netizens were quickly alarmed because. she looks incredibly uncomfortable. She. just looks so uncomfortable. She was. probably too afraid to make him angry, to tell him to give her some space. In. another shocking instance, Gia was. invited to one of the producers' houses. while they were in the process of. filming a movie. So, he's like, "Hey, cast, crew, come on over. I'm throwing a.

party.". She politely declined cuz she knows what. goes on in these parties. She gave the. reason that her little sister was. visiting from London. Her other little. sister, Karishma, was visiting from. London. And he's like, "Okay, well, that's perfect. Bring your sister along, too." I think it just got to the point. where both parties knew that she was. trying to politely decline, but because. he kept pushing it, she couldn't give an. appropriate rejection. Like she was. saying everything but the words "no" and. come on, he's not freaking dumb. He's an. accomplished producer. He knows.

So, for the sake of her career and this. movie that all of her fans were waiting. on, she ends up showing up with her. sister, and she's thinking, you know, the whole cast and crew are going to be. there. My little sister's going to be. there. Maybe things will be better with. her there. How is he going to harass me. in front of my sister? She's 16. She's a. little minor. So, they get to the. producer's house, and everyone's. standing around the kitchen table, and. her little sister is wearing like a tank. top. And you know how everyone's. standing around the kitchen table, your back starts getting tired? Like.

you're you're kind of tired of standing, so you want to lean on something. So, her sister just leans on the kitchen. counter like on her elbows as she's. listening to people talk. This is so. normal. I mean, just think of a group of. people standing around a kitchen table, someone's going to be leaning on the. island like that. The producer takes one. look at her and announces in front of. everyone, "Oh, that one wants. At the little sister? Yeah. Gia immediately jumped to her. defense and was like, "What are you. talking about? She's 16. She doesn't. want What are you saying right now?".

"Well, just look at the way she's. standing.". Wow. That has nothing to do with anything. She does not want. So, they very shortly after this leave, and it turns out that this producer has. a history of whipping out his at parties. in front of unconsenting parties, asking. female actresses to send nudes, and. stating that it was part of the casting. call, verbally degrading women at his. parties, and watching graphic materials. in front of his female staff members at. parties. Gia was so taken aback, but she also.

felt so backed into a corner. I mean, her dreams, her career, her entire. livelihood was on the line if she didn't. do what these men had asked of her. She. was very open with her family about how. dark Bollywood was. She never tried to. hide it. It's not like something that. she did wrong. She wasn't ashamed, and I. think it was a good reminder to her. younger sisters like, "Don't let these. types of industries fool you. It's not. glamour. It's not sparkles.". But instead of writing about these shady. producers, the media focused on the. actresses who were all busy spending.

trying not to be essayed. For example, Gia was cut from a movie. literally in the middle of filming, she. was replaced. The headlines read, "Producer cuts Gia Khan for flirting so. much with the staff that she couldn't. focus on her work.". The truth was a big-name Bollywood. family star suddenly decided that his. nepo baby daughter was perfect for the. role in the middle of filming, and. because his family was so influential, Gia was cut, and in comes nepo baby.

girl. But if people found out that's the. truth, nobody will want to support the. film or support the daughter, and the. nepo baby daughter will be a laughing. stock. So, this is what they did. instead. So, for the first time ever, after. everything that Gia had gone through, after everything that she had tried to. accomplish, she decides she needs a. break from Bollywood. Her and her mom go. back to London, and she spends about a. year just healing from everything. And. her mom kept reassuring her, "You know, there's so many opportunities in London. Like, you don't have to be in Bollywood,

but you could be a part of show. business. You could be a brand manager, a brand ambassador, or there's got to be. other roles, you know?". And it worked. In London, Gia booked a. bunch of brand deals including working. with Formula One. She spent a lot of. time with her two younger sisters who. love to hear stories about Bollywood. But then Gia runs into a man named. Kumar. Kumar was a producer in. Bollywood. He said he wanted to take Gia. in. He wanted to help her grow. He told. her, "Don't let people get in your way.

Don't let them waste your talent." He. promised that as long as he was her. mentor, she would not be essayed by any. producers. She believed him, and I know. what you're thinking. Kumar's going to. turn out to be super shady. Actually, no. He really was one of the. good ones. Even Gia's family have. nothing but nice things to say about. Kumar. And because of him, January of. 2012, Gia makes it back to Mumbai with. her mom. So, at this point, her mom has. decided that she's going to stay in. Mumbai for a few months, go to London. with her other two daughters, stay in.

London for a while, come back to Mumbai, and Gia's going to take her one last. shot at Bollywood. And I believe Gia's. Okay, so side note, I believe Gia's. father was out of the picture since she. was like a young girl. So, he's not in. the picture. It's just mom and three. girls. September of 2012, this is when. things start going down, and it all. starts with an innocent Facebook. request. A friend request from a man. named Suraj Pancholi. Now, by all means, nothing about. Suraj was not someone that Gia had. personally met, I don't think. But, uh.

you know, if they did, it was just in. passing. But, the guy was as vetted as. he could be. His parents were both very. well known in Bollywood. His mom was a. famous actress. His dad was a big shot. producer, and he himself was an actor. {slash} production assistant or a. producer's assistant. And it's. completely an illusion, but I feel like. this would be much more comfortable. accepting a friend request like that. than like a complete stranger. Cuz you. work in the industry, your parents work. in the industry. Like rumors run fast. You must at least be somewhat stable.

But, in this situation, Suraj was. someone that would slither into Gia's. life and just tear it apart piece by. piece by piece. His family was actually known to be. filled with scandals, and they seemed. like the type of family that wasn't shy. about using nepotism to get their son. into places. For example, at the age of. 19, he was already an assistant producer. in multiple big-budget films. Okay, a. little shady. Gia was a few years older. than him. She was 22, 23 years old at. the time. And from the moment that she.

accepted his friend request, this guy is. showering her with attention and. compliments. He would non-stop message. telling her how beautiful she was, how. talented she was, which like, yeah, we. know. But he would also send chocolates, flowers, food, Christian Louboutin shoes. to her house to woo her. I mean, it was. flattering. Like, it's it's really hard. to not feel like a princess being. showered with attention and gifts like. that. It feels like you're in a movie. Like, the the son of this wealthy family. wants to woo you. Even if you don't care.

about the money, it's like a main. character moment. And she would tell her. family all of this, and they were all. super chill about it. They said, "We all. kind of giggled about it." Like, she. never took it seriously. It's like this. young kid who's sending her Louboutins. She just thought it was funny. But. that's how she got trapped. He added her. as a friend September of 2012. By end of. October, beginning of November 2012, they were practically living together. Suraj would spend most nights at Gia's. place. And even though Gia told her. family, "No, no, no.

Like, we're just friends. We're just. friends." Her mom knew that things were. changing. So, her mom was in London with. her other two daughters, and Gia was. like, "Hey, Mom. Do you want to video. chat and um. meet Suraj?". Of course her mom wanted to talk to. Suraj. This is the man that has been. impressing her daughter for the past few. months. She hops on a Skype call. The. energy is weird. He's like hiding. in the corner, like in the shadow, where. it's dimly lit. He wouldn't show his. face completely. He's not that. energetic. He's not what you would.

imagine someone would behave when. they're meeting their partners' parents. for the first time. Gia's mom was very. taken by surprise. But of course, when. she brought it up to Gia, like all of. her concerns, Gia is just reassuring. her, "Mom, he's just super, super shy. Like, he just woke up from a nap, and he. was super shy.". Okay, but her mom just felt all these. red flags. He had moved into her house. Gia is the. one paying all the bills. They weren't. even splitting the rent, nor did they. get a new place together. But because. Gia is an adult, you know, what can.

Gia's mom do? And I think Gia's mom, I don't want it. to sound like she's this helicopter mom, and I mean, there is a debate about that. later, but I don't want to make it sound. like she is. I think that Gia's mom, she. really just focused on women having a. life outside of their relationship. Not. just women, but everyone. So, she always. told Gia, "If you're going to be in a. relationship, that's fine. You're. literally an adult, but no matter what, don't you ever let a man or anyone take. you away from all the hobbies that you. have. Like, you cannot lose yourself in.

a relationship. You need to keep playing. the piano. You need to keep taking your. Hindi lessons, classical dance lesson. Do the things that you've already liked. to do. Do not neglect yourself to spend. time with someone else." But Gia just. told her, "Mom, I'm really happy, okay? You don't need. to worry. I'm really happy with him.". The next time Gia comes to visit her mom. and sisters in London, she was in a. full-blown relationship with Suraj, and. they did notice some interesting changes. in Gia. Her phone was buzzing.

constantly, just non-stop text, calls, video chats, everything. And Gia would. never let it ring or sit for too long, meaning she would stop whatever it it. was she was doing and answer it. In. hindsight, the family realized that. Suraj was probably trying to isolate. Gia. Even when Gia was spending time. with her family, she wasn't able to be. mentally and emotionally present like. before. So, this is something that. abusers do do, which is when you are. forced to spend time with other people, they will bombard you with text messages. and make you feel like if you don't.

answer, they're going to explode on you, so you can't even be in the present. moment. And even if you are around your. family, you're being isolated. So, he's constantly just drawing her. closer into him and nobody else. And. when it was happening, the whole family. just chalked it up to being in the. honeymoon phase because it's hard to. differentiate. You know, it's not that. your partner is an abuser because a lot. of times in the beginning of a. relationship, everyone goes through like. the school girl school boy crush where. you're just so excited to talk to them. Nothing else is is as exciting as.

getting to know them. They thought it was that. So, they were. annoyed, but they weren't suspicious. That is until December. Gia was back in. Mumbai and her mom was still in London. And her mom gets a text message from. Suraj. That is so strange. She opens it. up and it's this lengthy paragraph about. how sorry he is. She's like, "What?" Okay, she's. confused. She has no idea what he's. apologizing for and through the context. of the text message, she was able to. gather that he had gotten into a.

physically violent altercation with Gia. and now he was begging her, her, Gia's. mother, the one who birthed Gia to. convince Gia to come back to him. Basically, can you talk to your daughter. for me? She hates me because I hit her. That's crazy cuz that's only been what, two, three months? Yeah. That escalated so quickly. Yeah, very quickly. Yeah, I don't know the statistics on. this on when it escalates. I thought it. was a bit slower than this cuz I read. statistics that sometimes a lot of.

domestic violence actually originates. when the woman gets pregnant or at least. in male-to-woman um abusive situations. Yeah. So, he's saying things like, "I. was drunk. I lost control. We were. fighting." Now, Gia's mom is disgusted. She said, "If this happened in London, he would already be in jail right now. for domestic violence." Rabia, the mom, uh said that he was she was so. infuriated, she took a picture of this. text message, sent it to Gia, and was. like, "I need to talk to you. immediately. What is going on? What is. this? You need to call me right now.".

Gia calls her and explains to her mom, "No, you don't get it. Like he he truly. was sorry. He was crying the entire. night. He was begging me at my feet, begging me not to leave. His face was so. swollen from all the crying. Rabia did. not feel as sympathetic as Jia did. She. took these text messages and handed them. directly to India's CBI, basically the. Indian version of the FBI. Now, I'm not. too familiar with the Indian legal. system, but domestic violence cases go. to family court and not the CBI.

But I think that she went to the CBI. because Suraj was a high-profile person. from a high-profile influential wealthy. family. So, it's not going to be your. typical family court case. But for many. reasons, the CBI was not interested in. investigating. So, like I what I gather is the mom. already felt alarming enough. Yes. Like this is not something, oh, couple. fight, turn violent, they are working it. out. She wants a investigation. She. wants things to be done already at that. point. She wants him to be locked up. Okay, so it's like she's really alarmed.

that like the bells going off like. crazy. And I know people are going to be like, well, why did she let them continue to. date? I think that is a big. misconception. And I'm not a parent, so. I can't really answer wholeheartedly, but I would imagine, just being a. teenager or being an adult that had. fallen in love with people, I feel like. if my parents. just were like, no, you can't see that. person anymore, it would push me more. towards that person. Sure. Whereas, maybe if they're in jail, you. would hate me, but you can't really be. pushed towards that person when they're.

in jail. I mean, that I think that's better than. what most people are doing already. Like. she's. reaching out to legals and and. authorities. Oh. to intervene, right? That's better. This mom, yes. Just you listen. Okay, so. first of all, she goes to the Indian. CBI, like the FBI, and they're like, oh, well, sorry, we're not going to do. anything about it. It It's It was just crazy. The laws are. definitely one-sided in India, where you. have to be married and a husband has to. inflict damage on the wife or the wife's.

mother and sister. This is a really. weird law, but domestic violence cannot. be a charge if the husband beats up the. wife's dad. That's just being mean, I. guess. Like it has to be a woman. So, it's one-sided in that respect, but it's. also very similar to the US where. regardless of the gender of the victim, domestic violence. is not taken seriously, and it's a big. problem, and not enough gets done about. it. To give you perspective, India's. biggest anti-domestic abuse law was. passed in 2005.

2005. I mean, better late than never, but. still. And it gets worse. Men still cannot. legally essay their wives in India. They obviously, of course, can, but. legally legally they cannot. It's not. recognized because they're married, so. it cannot be essay. And I just want to. clarify, 1,000% it is essay. Like you. need consent each and every time you. engage in these activities, and everyone. must be of age each and every single. time. Doesn't matter if you've been. married for 1 day, 2,000 years, does not.

matter. So, the CBI is kind of relaxed about the. whole thing. They did nothing, and Rabia. was very confused on what to even do. now. She felt like her hands were tied. It's not like. Jia is a teenager. She's an adult. She's. 24. She's scared of pushing her closer. into Suraj. She was in a very tricky. situation. So, what does she do? She. goes to the British Embassy in London. She goes to the Embassy, and then. they're like, "Hey, because your. daughter is a US citizen, because she. was born in the US, you need to go to. the US Embassy." So, she goes to the.

American Embassy in London and is like, "You need to do something. My daughter. is being abused. Yeah, you need to do. something. She's a victim of domestic. violence, and she's a US citizen, so you. are responsible." And they the US was. like, "Okay, we can try." They reached. out to the Indian CBI, and the CBI told. them what I'm sure the FBI would have. told India, which is, "Hey, leave us. alone. This isn't your jurisdiction, so. So, Rabia was stuck. She had no how to. handle the situation, and Gia was. getting sucked deeper and deeper into.

this relationship. Gia's friends saw her. less and less, and when they did, they. said that she wasn't even Gia anymore. I. mean, she was just someone that loved. making people laugh, and now she barely. laughed herself. She had less energy. I. mean, there were just no words to. describe the change in her personality. She only wore long sleeves and pants, speculated she did to hide the bruises. And originally, she loved to make people. laugh, and now she just. she was just so miserable.

January of 2014, Gia went to a. hairdresser who had been noticing the. same changes in Gia. And but because she. had so up close and personal contact. with her, she actually saw a glimpse of. underneath the neckline of Gia's shirt. There were bruises and scratches. And. she asked her, "Gia, what happened to. you?" Gia hesitated before asking, "Do. do all Indian men hit women?". So, we can assume that Suraj probably. gaslit her into believing that this was. a cultural difference. That she just.

needs to get used to it because this is. what loving couples do, that all Indian. men hit women. That is could not be. further from the truth. Like, could not. be. But you know how gaslighting. manipulators are. The hairdresser could. not really do anything to protect Gia. I. mean, look at Gia's mom, who's trying. everything, and nobody could do. anything. So, Suraj was said to have a. very, very, very abusive relationship. with Gia. Not just physically, but. people who knew the couple said that he. would drag Gia to these parties and. these get-togethers with all his wealthy.

friends, all of his very elite Bollywood. actors and actresses and producers, and. he would physically and verbally degrade. her in front of them. Maybe it made him. feel more like a man when he dragged her. down. Maybe he felt threatened by the. fact that he was handed a career and she. actually had talent and skill and was. respected for her craft. But he would literally flirt with other. women in front of her, call them. beautiful in front of her, degrade her. verbally in front of these other women. He would belittle her work, call her. degrading names in front of people. Gia.

didn't even hide these things from her. family, either. She told them and they. were so confused on what to do. She. would say, "Sometimes he would hit me. until I bled." And Rabia was going. crazy. I mean, from being unable to help. her own daughter, all she could do was. try and tell her daughter, "That's not. love, Gia. That will never be love. That. is not love." I don't think that we. should ever question why anybody stays, okay? I think that's just toxic. I think. it's just victim-blaming, just disguised. as something else. I understand that we.

might not be able to understand certain. things, but. you really can't understand everything. unless you've been in those situations. Now, I do think in this case there were. maybe some indicators of why she might. have stayed. I do think that there was. an element of Gia believing that she. could change Suraj, potentially. So, let. me explain. It said that she would talk. about how she believed Suraj was abusive. because his father was abusive. And his. father was this very. kind of evil man. He would constantly.

cheat on Suraj's mom with minors. He never even tried to hide it from the. mom, the industry, literally nobody. Suraj's mom knew. And Suraj knew even at. an early age that his dad would bring. home minors and sleep with them. Literally, nobody was safe from Suraj's. dad. Underage housekeepers, underage. actresses on set, underage friends'. daughters. Truly, anyone young and. beautiful would be a target of Suraj's. father. Now, in order to cope with this, Suraj's. mom would just throw herself into her.

work. She would put her everything into. her roles. She was never home. Her whole. life was being a successful actress. And. Suraj was raised in this tough, confusing, lonely conditions. And I can. imagine maybe the abuse and the. sprinkling of the, you know, he would. abuse Gia and then sprinkle in these. little childhood trauma stories. I imagine for someone that seemed as. incredibly graceful and compassionate as. Gia, she probably felt bad for him. Maybe she thought that she could break. help him break this cycle, but I don't.

think that that would have been. possible. Because while Suraj grew up. hearing all these allegations against. his dad, he also saw his dad use power, money, and influence to silence the. victims. He would slam these victims. with defamation lawsuits, and the deeply. patriarchal society would always back. him up. The victims would be left with. nothing, not even their careers anymore. The biggest consequence that Suraj's dad. ever faced was a tiny little fine. You. know what he was in court for? For. essaying and blackmailing a girl that.

was decades younger than him, and he was. slapped with a fine that was so minute. compared to his earnings, it can only be. described as comical, as laughable. But. maybe someone out there is more cynical. than I am, okay? And I'm sure the. thought of, "Well, maybe she was also. with him for money and fame, right?". That's fine, you can think that, but. that's not true. She wasn't. They kept. their entire relationship a secret. He. didn't even seem to pull any strings for. her, and as for finances, he mooched off. of her. It seemed like a situation of.

Suraj had to constantly ask his parents. for money. His parents were the. breadwinners. In order to get the money, he had to tell them why he wanted the. money. He had to please his parents in. order to get his next allowance. He's. just a nepo baby. But for Gia, she made. her own money. She's an adult. She can. do whatever she wants with her own. money. So, he's like, "Okay, maybe it's easier. to take Gia's money than my parents'. money." He lived in Gia's house that she. fully paid for. She paid all the rent. and bills, he never chipped in. When. they would go out to eat, Gia would pay.

When Suraj would occasionally, occasionally buy things for the house. like groceries, he would do it on Gia's. card. And even when he wanted to buy her a. present, he would pay for it using her. He would pay for it using her card, not. their card. Because I know some married. couples are like fully joint finances, that's different. Her card. Like he's. got his own separate bank account, he. would use her bank account that he never. puts money into. He once asked for a lot. of money. And she's like, "What do you. need all this money for?".

Oh, cuz I want to I want to buy you. jewelry. He would also come up with these lengthy. stories of how his family was in trouble. and desperately needed to borrow money. or his friends were in trouble. And Gia. would lend the money with the promise. that she would get it fully paid back. She would never get the money back. And. also come to find out that friend never. needed the money, never got the money. So, what is he doing with the money? Sometimes he would say, "I'm trying to. buy you jewelry, give me money." She. would give him the money and she would. never get jewelry. So, sometime between.

January and early spring of 2014, Gia. kicks him out of the house. She's so fed. up. Sooraj ends up getting his own place. in Mumbai and Gia invited her mom to. stay in Mumbai. She's like, "I am over. him, Mom. He's out of the house." Cuz. her mom typically would come to Mumbai. more often, but because Sooraj was in. the house, she's like, "I'll just I'll. just stay in London, right?" And their. relationship wasn't entirely over. You. know, it takes a while to break up when. you've lived together and thought at one. point that this was your soulmate. But. regardless, Rabia was super super proud.

of her daughter. Rabia made sure to keep. Gia busy the whole time, keep her mind. off of that scummy man. Gia was focusing. on work again and through May and June, her sister Kavita was coming. So, she's. got schedules lined up. She's got a ton. of busy future plans. And that fateful day, June 3rd, this is the big day that. they'd been gearing up for. Gia's sister was going to arrive from. London after midnight. It was also her. birthday week. So, Gia and her mom were.

super excitedly planning everything, decorating the place. Kavita's birthday? Yeah. She's flying in from London and. it's the big 21. I don't know the. drinking age. I think in the UK it's 18, but you know, they're US citizens. Like, 21's a big age. So, Gia is telling her. mom, "Okay, don't tell Kavita, but I. placed an order for her birthday for. jewelry. Like, we're going to decorate. I've got the cake all picked out. Oh, it's going to be so good." And they were. both so happy. They went out shopping. all day. They get at home 6:30 p.m. They. both rest a bit, and Gia's mom is like,

"Wait, okay, do you want me to come with. you to pick her up?" She's like, "No, Mom, it's fine. Like, it's going to be. after midnight. I'm I'm going to pick. her up from the airport. I already told. her." Okay, sounds good. Now, whilst. they're having this conversation, Gia's. phone buzzed, and she excuses herself. She comes back, and her mom doesn't. really think anything of it. Now, in. hindsight, she thinks that it was. probably Sooraj that called her. She comes back into the room, and both. of them decide, "Well, it's not like we. can go to sleep tonight, right? So, why. don't we just do something else?". So, they were both going to go to their.

friends' places for gatherings. They. walked out of the apartment together, and the plan was that Gia's mom would go. to her friend's house for a little. party, and come back home before Gia. came home with Kavita from the airport. Mhm. Gia, I'm not sure if she planned to stay. out the whole night at her friend's. house until she left for the airport, which I feel like, yeah, that sounds. smart to do, but, you know, that was. kind of the plan. Regardless, Gia left. in a blue tracksuit, a blue matching. set. This is so important. They were. caught on CCTV wearing a blue tracksuit. leaving their own house.

Yes. Okay. Then they went their separate ways. Now, we can assume the person that called Gia. was Sooraj, and it's possible that they. made up, and Gia didn't tell her mom. because her mom would have been very. upset. She didn't want to ruin the week. Or it's possible that maybe they hadn't. fully made up, but he was just. constantly reaching out to her. Because. recently, she had signed two new. contracts for two new movies, and he had. sent flowers. I don't know if they were. as a congratulatory gift or as like an. apology, "I'm so sorry, forgive me". gift. We don't know. But, she didn't. accept it. She asked the doorman to.

throw it away for her, and this is where. things get very, very shady. Sueraj told. Gia this night, he's texting her, "I'm. going to have dinner with a friend, Naomi." That's a fake name. And um and then I'm going to meet with. the jeweler. I'm going to get you your. jewelry piece. I think he's like trying to get back. into her life. Mhm. He's like, "I'm going to get you your. jewelry." And it seemed to like Gia was. like, "Okay, whatever." She goes to her. friend's house and uh Sueraj calls Gia. again and he's telling her, "Okay, like. I'm still waiting for the jeweler right. now to get to my place." She's like,

"Okay, this is weird. Why are you. telling me this? And second of all, it's. 10:00 p.m. You're meeting your jeweler? Like what kind of jeweler meets you at. 10:00 p.m.?" She actually knew his. jeweler. So, just as a. I think there's a lot of trauma here. And I even if they were broken up, I. think it's so fresh and I think he had. cheated on her so many times, it's like, "You know what? I'm just going to. freaking catch him and be like, yeah, this is why I'm not getting back. together with you." So, she calls up the. jeweler and he's like, "What are you. talking about? I'm not meeting him.

tonight. I'm meeting him next week.". So, she just caught him in a lie. And. she just seemed so done with him. She. calls to tell him, "Like I know you're. lying, okay?" He's like, "No, no, no, you've completely misunderstood. The. jeweler lied to you because I told him. it was a surprise for you. So, he. doesn't want you to know that we're. meeting tonight.". The jeweler even called back. suspiciously to be like, "Sorry I lied. to you. I just wanted it to be a. surprise.". What surprise? He took the money to buy. the jewelry. He was like literally, "I'm. going to get you your jewelry. I'm What.

surprise? What is she going to be. surprised about?". But maybe sensing he couldn't come up. with a better lie, Sueraj just turns off. his phone after this call. He stops. responding to her, stops picking up any. calls from Gia's phone. Her best guess is the guy is lying and. he's cheating right now. So, again, it seemed like they were on. bad terms. He had moved out, but maybe. he is like trying to do all these things. to get her back and she's like, "Look, you're never going to change." So, what. does she do? She leaves her friend's. house to catch him in his lies. She goes. all the way to his place and his.

housekeeper opens up the door. Okay, so. this part I'm trying to be very careful. with my wording here. Suraj claims that when Gia arrives, she. sounded manic. She's screaming, she's. yelling, accusing him of cheating, and. demanding to see him. Do I encourage that kind of response. when someone is cheating on you? When. you think someone is cheating on you? No. But do I think that it's a. completely normal human response? Yeah. I mean, but the use of the word. manic almost implies that she was. dealing with some sort of mental health.

battle at that point in time. Which she. might have been, but again, it's a. pretty normal response to when you think. that you've caught in your partner. actively cheating on you. It's giving. she was acting all crazy because I was. in bed with another girl. Like that's. the energy Suraj is giving. Anyways, Gia. is demanding to see him, but the. housekeeper is like, "Oh, no, you can't. He's in a meeting." She's covering for. her boss. And he comes out to see what. the commotion is about. The two of them. get into a very heated argument while. the housekeeper is just awkwardly. standing there. This is 10:48 p.m. Gia.

is seen on CCTV storming off. So, there's CCTV footage of her entering and. leaving the building, but there is no. footage of the fight. Now, Suraj turns. his phone back on and sends Gia 10 text. messages. Which I don't know, I guess. you could also call that acting crazy or. manic. But in the span of 20 minutes, he. sends her 10 text messages. "Call me if. you want to talk. Leave. You made my. life a prison. I really just wanted to. eat food with Naomi, meet the jeweler, and give her your new order. You creep.

You spy on me, shady person. How will we. ever work if you do this I always trust. you blindly. Please leave me alone. You. did it up. You did. I am very unhappy. You think I'm jealous of your success? Ha ha ha ha. You ungrateful person. Talk to Naomi and find out for yourself. what happened. I wanted to surprise you. on Thursday. Thanks for [ __ ] up. When. you find out the truth, then talk to me. Before that, don't even think about it. How could you spy on me with Naomi? This. is [ __ ] up.

Call me ASAP. It's urgent. Last text message. Call me now. I want. to talk to you ASAP. Meanwhile. Who's Naomi? Naomi is like the friend that he said he. was going to eat dinner with and then. meet with the jeweler. Mhm. Yeah. Now, meanwhile, Rabia, she she. loses track of time while she's hanging. out with her friends. She comes out of. the friend's apartment at around 11:20, takes a taxi home, and she said, "When I. opened the door and I walked into the. house, all the lights were on. The. kitchen lights were on. The hallway. lights were on. All the bathroom lights.

were on. The bedroom lights were on.". I'm so sorry. What time did his daughter. leave the boyfriend's house? 10:48. 10:48 and she got home at. 11:20. So, it's a 30-minute. 30 minutes. Okay. Yeah. And uh she said, "You know, I was. calling for Gia's name because it's a. little weird. They never leave all the I. mean, no one just goes around leaving. all their house lights on at this hour. It's just bizarre.". Okay. And every single door in the house. was shut. Again, weird. Gia is not known for. closing her bathroom door, her bedroom.

door. Like, they were very an open door. house. It's just a house full of girls, you know? Okay, very strange. Okay, so just um. kind of a layout of this place. The. primary bedroom is where Gia's mom was. staying. She It's always reserved for. Gia's mom. Gia took one of the smaller. rooms and this is She's got all of her. stuff in there. It's got a bathroom. that's connected to this room, but on. the other side of the bathroom, there is. another room connected. So, in the US, we would call this a Jack and Jill. setup. Now, that other room was the. smallest of the three rooms and all it.

could fit were two twin-size beds and a. small little nightstand in between. So, that's it. But it works because Gia's. two sisters, if they were visiting. Mumbai at the same time from London, they would be in that guest room. together. So, this is very pertinent to. the story. The bedroom is very, very, very small. The two beds and the. nightstand, they take up the whole room. There is not much else in that room. She. and mom walk into Gia's bedroom. She's. not there. She walks into the shared. bathroom. She's not there. And it's all. so strange because the lights are all.

on. And she said, "So, I think then. where is she?" I slide the door to the. other room, the guest room. Gia was dangling from the ceiling fan by. a dupatta. Um this is like a decorative. shawl / scarf that Indian women. typically wear with dresses. Rabia. screamed and ran to her daughter. She. tried her best to hug Gia around the. ankles to support her weight. She used. her other hand to call emergency. services, her friend, and then a doctor. Cuz emergency services were already on. their way, but just in case. She's.

calling for backup. She's screaming, "Gia's body is still warm. Her body is. still warm.". So, the friend she called were still at. the gathering that she had just left. from. So, a few of them make their way. over, and they actually get there before. Gia's doctor arrives and before. emergency services arrive. But, also. caught on CCTV. Very interesting. But, Suraj's father was also seen loitering. around the apartment building. He looks. like he's contemplating whether or not. to go inside. It is strange. Now, there. are a few reasons of maybe why he could.

be there right now. Maybe he was at the. party and either dropped off Rabia Rabia. and dropped off the other friends who. were rushing to meet with Rabia, or he. was at the party and happened to hear. what had happened and rushed over. But, Gia's mom never mentioned him being at. the party, and the father of your. daughter's shady boyfriend seems like a. big detail. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Yes. You're saying the father was outside? Yeah. Never came in? No. Okay, then if following that thought, if. he came to drop off everyone or or came.

with the friends, why would you not come in? Exactly. Everyone would expect you to. come in. No one would think it's weird. if you don't come in. In fact, it's. weirder if you don't come in. Exactly. Yeah. So, that theory of oh, I'm just coming. with everyone doesn't make sense. And I would be more inclined to go in if. I'm like, oh my god, this is my child's. partner. I'd be like, I feel like I have. more right being in there than these. random friends. Yes. I mean, the reason for him not. coming either he doesn't know what's. going on, then why are you here? Or.

he knows what's going on and deciding. not to come in. In no instance can I think of a reason. why he's there and doesn't go in. Unless. he's meeting someone else, but that kind. of information has not come forward. Like information that he knew someone. else in this apartment building. So instead, he just wandered around the. lobby and left. Before he was completely. out of range, CCTV did catch him reach. into his pocket, pull out his phone, and. make a phone call. It was strange, but. it's about to get stranger. Unfortunately, even though her body was.

warm, Gia was pronounced dead at the. scene. Gia's mom immediately went into. detective mode as most mothers would do. in this position. She felt it was off. The whole thing was off from the get-go. First of all, she saw what her daughter. was wearing. She was not wearing that. blue jumpsuit right now. Which fine, okay, you could argue that. she came home and changed, but that blue. jumpsuit was nowhere in the house. Nowhere. Not in the laundry bin, not. back in the closet. It had vanished. Someone took it. Yeah. So she came home, changed, walked.

right back out and threw her clothes. somewhere that nobody could find, and. then came back home to do all of this? But you said there's CCTV for the. building? So she was seen coming in and she was. not seen ever leaving again. However, that guest bedroom has a big window and. they're a ground floor apartment and. there is no CCTV around there because it. leads directly to the street. So I guess. you could argue that she came home, changed, jumped out of her guest bedroom. window to dispose of her blue jumpsuit,

and then jumped back in through the. window, but why on earth would she do. that? But it's so weird. So she came home in a blue jumpsuit and. then 30 minutes later she changed and. the jumpsuit is completely gone. Yeah. That is so weird. So, the speculation about this jumpsuit. is that someone else climbed in through. that window, hurt her, and there was. evidence on the jumpsuit. So, they. framed the whole setup and then took. that jumpsuit with them. Just doesn't. make sense. Okay, and then you have the. smaller things that are. you know, these I don't think we can.

really argue as much like Gia never. leaves the lights on and closes all the. doors. Also, the window was never open, but it was wide open this time. These. are things that I think are harder to. have a discussion about. It's just but. all of it together. I think one strange. thing is fine, but all of these strange. things. it's weird. Now, experts also argue that. yeah, people do do some very strange. impulsive things when they're in this. desperate state of mind. But, statistically, women do not like to end. things where they know that people they.

love will find them. very quickly. Women often also die less. of gunshot wounds because they don't. want to traumatize the people that find. their bodies. So, it's I just find it. hard to believe that Gia would do this. the day her sister lands on her birthday. week. It just all feels abnormal. Not to say. that it can't happen, but abnormal. Now, add to that Gia's face and neck had some. cuts and bruises. Rabia did not believe.

that these cuts could have come from the. dupatta, which is almost like a like a. silky fabric. It's like a like a soft. fabric. Moreover, allegedly, the. ligature marks did not match with the. markings of that type of fabric. The. police tested the room for fingerprints. and they came back get this. completely clean. Completely. No trace of anyone's fingerprints. Not. hers, not her mom's, not anybody that. lives in this apartment. No one. The. light switch, the door handle, the.

ceiling fan, No fingerprints at all. The. complete absence of fingerprints. There were also blood stains on the bed. Not a lot, but a little bit. For some. reason, the police did not take this. into evidence. They didn't even take. photos of it. They also never recreated. this crime scene to see if it was even. possible for Gia to be this to herself. So, this whole situation is strange. Another thing that experts argue is that. you know, people only make decisions. like this when they feel desperate, when. there's no other option. But, you cannot.

fight human. human biology. And one of the things is. in the end the reason that people end up. using certain methods to make this. decision, it's because you can't back. out. Because humans have a tendency, no. matter how dark you get, your survival. instinct kicks in. And that's. biological. Gia's feet weren't touching. the ground, but beside her, very close. to her, were the two twin mattresses. That's why I said it's very pertinent. She could easily just like lean on them.

So, it's not a situation where there's a. knocked chair and she has no other. option. I guess again, for something. like that, we can argue we don't know, it's abnormal, but it does happen. But, I'm just saying all these abnormal. things adding up. But, back to the. missing tracksuit, cuz that's really. abnormal. The tracksuit was just. missing. So, like I said, CCTV showed. her leaving Suraj's place, and there was. only a 30-minute time window between the. time that she left and the time that. Rabia found her. It takes at least a few.

minutes for someone to die in this. method. Let's say it took at least 10. minutes to set everything up. That. leaves just 20 minutes. She could. definitely have changed clothes, gotten. rid of the blue tracksuit, but still. Another thing that people were arguing. is that if someone had killed Gia, they. could have used that window. What was. going on? Is it murder? Is it not? The. police are called to the scene, and they. rule out foul play in just 2 hours. I'm not saying it's a 100% murder, but. like how can you rule it out with all.

these things? The added problem of this. is that since murder was ruled out, the. police were unwilling to spend resources. to perform an autopsy. All of this is. happening while Kavita was in the air. She had no idea of any of this. She was. on the plane thinking about how her. sister would be waiting for her when she. got off the plane and what they would. eat because she was hungry. She got off the plane and when her phone. This is literally I have such an anxiety. about this. Anytime I'm not traveling. with my whole family, I always buy the. Wi-Fi on a plane even if it's pricey. because. I don't know why. Anytime I'm on a.

plane, I feel like something's going to. happen to someone and I won't know. And. she gets off the plane and all these. mixed missed calls, text messages start. bombarding her. Friends giving. condolences and it I mean, in the middle. of this airport, her entire life. collapsed. And for the first few days, I think the. family just. they were in grief, you know. I think. that Gia's mom had some suspicions, but. they just were grieving. It wasn't until a few days later Kavita.

wanted to feel closer to her sister Gia. She remembered this poem that Gia had. read her. So, she goes into Gia's room. looking for a copy of that poem cuz it. was from like a book that Gia really. loved. And in a box, she finds six torn. pages of Gia's diary. This is the one that was released. Gia. had written about the abuse, the. assault, the rapes that she went through. and how horrible the relationship with. Suraj made her feel about the. termination of her pregnancy. And when. Kavita showed her mom, the family made. it a decision to release it to the.

public. You know, it's very painful for. them. I think it's this is a cultural. difference. You know, in Asia, it's very. common. that you should never air out dirty. laundry even if you are a victim. You. would think that you're exposing a. crime, but they're like, "No. You're. like being messy." So, the fact that. they made this letter public, it seems. like the family was very desperate for. justice. Gia's mom said, "I've decided. to make this public so everyone will. know the truth behind my daughter's. tragedy." Now, the letter is quite long. You can find it in our show notes, but. the important parts. Again, Gia mentions.

that she lost everything because of. Sooraj. She felt like she had nothing. else in this world. She was completely. broken. She said in the process of. loving him, she had lost herself. Yet, he tortured her every single day. She. devastatingly wrote, "It didn't matter. how many gifts I gave you or how. beautiful I looked for you.". He just. always cheated on her. It was revealed that she was forced to. terminate her pregnancy. She was scared, but she was completely giving herself to. that pain because she wanted a family,

but he destroyed it. He destroyed her. He destroyed her soul. She said her. career is not even worth chasing. anymore. She said, "When I met you, I. was a different person. I was ambitious, driven, disciplined, and then I fell in. love with you and I thought that you. would bring out the best in me, but I. didn't see any love or any commitment. from you." She talks about how every day. she's scared that he's going to hit her. She says her whole life is just about. him and work. And his whole life is about partying and. women. She writes, "All you want in your.

life is partying, your women, and your. selfish motives. All I wanted was you. and my happiness. You took both away. from me. I wish you had loved me like I. loved you. I dreamt of our future. I. dreamt of our success. I felt so alone. even while with you. You made me feel so. alone and vulnerable. I am so much more. than this.". So, this letter is huge. It blows the. case open. Everyone's talking about it. The CBI suddenly wants to help Gia's mom. in the quest for justice cuz they're. like, "Oh, no. If we don't do something,

people are going to get mad at us. So, act like we helped you.". So, they start investigating Sooraj and. during the interrogation, he seemed a. little nervous. Yeah, he was reiterating. the same things. He was restarting the. same sentences over and over again. But, being nervous does not mean you're being. guilty. He was also later caught on CCTV. that night at a hotel nearby. So. technically he had an alibi, but not. really. So they're like he has an alibi, he was at a hotel, but not really. The. hotel was on Gia's side of the city. So. he was nearby Gia's house. There was a.

30-minute window between when Gia left. his house and Rabia found her. Mhm. So the theory is he went there after Gia. left angry. He basically followed her to. her side of town and he if he's. innocent, you could argue that he wanted. to stay at the hotel to see if he could. meet with Gia at the hotel to talk. because he probably knew that her mom. was staying with her so they couldn't. talk at her place. But if he's not. innocent, then he's got a 30-minute. window to follow Gia home, wiggle open. the window, murder her, frame her murder. to be her choice, and then be at the.

hotel CCTV cameras before Rabia finds. her body to get an alibi. If Suraj did. kill Gia, then he would have had to. follow her, sneak in, abuse her, strangle her, stage her death, and then. be at the hotel CCTV camera in less than. 30 minutes. It is tight unless he had help. Also, another thing to add, when the police. went through his phone, they found no. evidence of those text messages that he. had sent to Gia's phone immediately. after she left. The aggressive ones of. like you ruined everything. Gia's phone had them, but Suraj's phone.

didn't. People speculate, remember how. his dad was leaving on the phone? Mhm. His dad had called and was like, "Hey, I. got the gist of what's going on. Gia's. dead. You need to delete any. incriminating evidence from your phone.". That's the presumption for now. So he's. deleted all of those text messages, but. again, being shady during an interview, deleting text messages, not illegal. The. CBI said they investigated Suraj, but. they were going to release him due to. his alibi. Rabia felt cheated of. justice. Like, how can they just release. him like that? Is it because his parents.

are wealthy, powerful, and. well-connected? She was not going to let. him get away with this. She paid for. four out-of-pocket separate medical. examiners to conduct autopsies on her. daughter. Almost all of them wrote that. manual strangulation was a possible. cause of death. Basically saying, we. can't rule it out. We can't say that's. what happened, but there's no evidence. to rule it out. Other suspicious things. that they discovered, they found marks. on her lips that could be bruises. They. could have been made by a blunt force. object or they could happen when someone. roughly places their hand over another's.

mouth. As far as the ligature marks on her neck. and chin, they have doubts that the. fabric as soft as the dupatta could. leave these marks. Also, they found. human tissue underneath Jiah's nails and. they encouraged the police to run the. DNA, but the police refused. They said. because the autopsies were not ordered. by us, the judge could easily throw. these out as evidence. So, they were. just like, we don't even want to spend. the resources to run DNA because DNA. testing is expensive. And also, I think a lot of it had to do.

with the fact that if they ran DNA, if. they found and uncovered more evidence. that went against the CBI theory, the. CBI would be a laughing stock. And most. government entities, all over the world, they like to protect their egos over. justice. So, it looked like these autopsy reports. were just going to get brushed away. So, Rabia, she wants to give the public. pieces of evidence that the CBI can't. sweep under the rug. She wants the. public to get as angry as her so that. the CBI will freaking do something. She released Jiah's autopsy photos.

There were pictures of Jiah's bruises. and in the pictures, her daughter is. dead laying on a medical examiner's. table with a blanket her up to just. below her shoulders. You can clearly see. bruises and swelling on her face and. neck. Um, I'm not going to attach the. photos here out of respect for Jiah, but. they are available online if you search. for them. Jiah had a big bruise on the. bottom of her chin. The part on the. bottom of her face between the top of. her neck and the bottom of her chin, like this part right below the mouth,

it's like one big black bruise here. Nadesan agreed that the bruise looked. more like a result of a fist than the. result of soft fabric. So, it's really. hard for the family to release these. pictures, but they wanted to get. justice. Now, before we get into that, there is something that you should know. about Bollywood. Bollywood is run by a. few rich, influential families that have. been in the business for decades. Not. only can they heavily sway the industry, but on who gets fired, and who gets. hired, what does well, what doesn't, but.

they can actually sway media, politics, and even the whole economy as a whole. Big Bollywood actors have ties with. ministers, politicians. They can sway. the entire judicial system in India. On. the rare case that they are arrested, they're immediately bailed out and the. media silenced. And if someone raises. accusations against them, the victims. are either bribed, threatened into. silence. And this little collection of. families are commonly known as the. Bollywood mafia. They've been surrounded. by suspicious deaths and for as long as. anyone can remember.

Sooraj has a mentor. The toxic boyfriend. has a mentor named Salman Khan. He's a. member of one of the families of the. Bollywood mafia. He has no relation to. Jiah Khan, by the way. But once these. allegations start surfacing, he signs. Sooraj in one of his upcoming films. Now, the media doesn't want to get on. his bad side by talking to the new lead. of his movie, so they stop publishing. the suspicions against Sooraj. He had so. much political sway that even the police. start backing off the investigation and. the CBI toned it down, too.

And once it's off mainstream media, the. netizens, they kind of slowly lost. interest. So, once Sooraj was brought. under his wing, Sooraj is untouchable. He was being. protected by the Bollywood mafia. And. this happens a lot in Bollywood because. big-name producers and actors, they have. so much power that the industry is just. filled with evil, evil people, okay? And. we know this because a lot of actresses. came forward during the Me Too movement. to talk about how they were told over.

and over again that producers told them, "In order to be successful if you are. not a nepo baby, you must be excited, willing, and enjoy with producers. Many. anonymous actresses came forward to say. how they were groped, assaulted, and. full-on essayed on set or after work. If. they rejected, they were told, "You. know, I don't know if you have the right. attitude to make it in this industry.". One producer told an actress, "I saw. your pictures. I think you have great. assets, but I don't see it right now. So, can you please remove your clothes?". She declined and he said, "For an.

actress, you should be happy to have. Embrace your body. Use it. This is your. biggest weapon.". This victim actually went to the police. with this and they told her that he was. just being friendly. She later went on. to say, "If someone speaks up, the. netizens trash the girl and they say. that the girl is publicity hungry, that. she has no talent, nothing to do, she's. not famous, so she's upset, probably. just wants money and fame." Inside note, again, just in case anyone thinks it's a. Bollywood problem, I mean, look at. Hollywood. That should tell you enough. These crimes are a global problem that.

affect every single person on this. planet. There are a lot of people in Bollywood. that have now come together to fight for. the punishment of predators. It was. actually started by a man. So, yeah, there are good people fighting for. safety in Bollywood, but as of right. now, there's also a lot of scary people. So, for a while, after he gets that Bollywood mafia. protection, nothing happens to Suraj. because even just trying to get justice. is a very long process. But in June of. 2020, 7 years after Jiah's death,

so like 3 years ago, a man that is often. referred to as SSR in this case, Sushant, I believe is how you say it, he. was a Bollywood actor and he was found. dangling from a ceiling fan. He was over. 6 ft tall, the ceiling fan was over his. bed, so his knees were bent and his feet. were resting on the mattress. A week before he died, he was googling. obsessively of a coworker that had also. died very mysteriously, another. Bollywood actor. No way.

His father has since come out to accuse. his secret girlfriend {slash} nepo baby. of one of the family members of the. Bollywood mafia of torturing him to the. point where he had dark thoughts. She. stole from him, cheated on him, mishandled his property. There was an. investigation and autopsy this time, but. the authorities ruled it off as him not. being able to cope with the pressures of. Bollywood. Netizens were not convinced. Netizens suspect the Bollywood mafia was. behind this and Jiah Khan's death. One.

actress said, "They killed Jiah, they. killed him, they tried to kill me, but. they roam free having full support of. the mafia growing stronger and more. successful every single day. Know that the world is not ideal. You. are either the prey or the predator. No. one will save you. You have to save. yourself.". Another actress anonymously said, "There. is no law in Bollywood. They do whatever. they want." So, Jiah's mom, she believes. it's also the Bollywood mafia that got. to him, is being done about his case. Now, late. April of this year, the Indian court.

officially acquitted Sooraj on all. charges related to Jiah's death. So, let's. Acquitted? Acquitted. So, let's talk about Sooraj's. side of the story. Nobody's arguing that. Sooraj is a good person. There is. evidence that he did abuse Jiah. There. is not, however, evidence that he killed. her. Look, I said I was going to present. both sides, so I'm going to do that. While Rabia posted YouTube videos, went. on talk shows, and went on to these. national platforms to promote her. daughter's case, Sooraj did his own. little press tour, his own little. explaining. Sooraj told the court and.

the media that Rabia was only telling. half the story. He said Rabia hid vital. information about Jiah's disturbed. childhood about and her multiple. attempts at her own life. He said, and. this part I hate, I hate. Okay, I hate. that he aired her dirty laundry to the. world, and I'm sure that there was some. narrative spinning done in order to be. in his favor, otherwise he wouldn't have. said it. But, I also really hate when. people. allude to daddy issues in any situation. Suraj told the world that Gia's father. abandoned her when she was just 2 years. old and for that she was always.

depressed. Now, she did admit that it. was hard for her, but still some. netizens took this and was like, "Oh my. god, maybe she even did all these movies. because she has daddy issues and wants. male attention." I don't believe that. specific argument that she looked for. attention because her father left her, but I do believe that Gia had a rougher. time in childhood because she didn't. have her dad to be there for her. She. said so herself, but that doesn't mean. anything. And then Suraj went on to tell. the entire world Gia's most deepest, most intimate secrets, the ones that she.

trusted with him in private, allegedly. He told everyone that she always had. body image issues. She has a very, very. hard ED. She had horrible boyfriends. Her first essay happened when she was. only 14 years old. This was never public. information. Gia was actually quite. private prior to her death. Suraj also. said that Rabia was the main cause of. Gia's mental health issues. Rabia was a. small-time actress who quit after having. Gia. She lived vicariously through her. daughter. She forced her daughter to be.

perfect in every aspect so that Gia. could become the actress that Rabia had. always wanted to be. He made it seem. like Gia was more anxious, more. depressed because of her mom. I think. most people were getting pretty upset. when he started going on about this. because first of all, dude, you didn't. even treat her well and now you're going. to come for people that you really you. don't have evidence of this. The only. evidence you have are other cases of. moms being tiger moms. That's it. And. now you act like you were the only one. supporting her and now you're being.

accused like you it just felt really. icky, but then something a something a. little less dismissible came to light. During the brief CBI investigation, they. ran a handwriting analysis on Gia's. note. Well, the analysis came back and. the note did not match with Gia's. handwriting. Do you know who it matched with? The mom? Yeah. Now, handwriting analysis are not. completely reliable and we could always. mention that the CBI could have been. bribed or a member of the CBI could have. been bribed. But according to research.

articles published by scientists at. Harvard and Cambridge, there's about a. 4% margin of error for handwriting. analysis. That's pretty big for a. science. But considering the. circumstances, you know, the note not being found until. 3 days after Gia's death and during. those 3 days Rabia watched as the CBI. labeled her daughter's death as no foul. play, let Suraj walk out of the. investigation room, I think. I think that people could understand. I'm not saying that Rabia definitely.

without a doubt faked her daughter's. note. That's for you to decide. But. netizens including me can understand how. a frustrated mom with no way out who's. watching helplessly on the side for. months as her daughter's boyfriend beat. her, mistreated her, and now potentially killed her would. want to do something. The contents of the letter though were. not lies. She did have to terminate her pregnancy. She was being abused. They just weren't, according to the court's handwriting.

analysis experts, they just weren't. written by Gia. But it's not made up stuff. Which. you know, to me. I know people are really upset about. this and it's hard to trust her after. that, but. the contents of the letter are still. true and I think that's what we should. focus on. Cuz her writing that letter. It doesn't make the guy less. Yeah. evil, right? it were lies, then I'm like, "Ooh, okay, now I need to rethink my opinion on this. man.". Yeah. But if the contents of the letter are. still true, I'm like, "Well, you still.

did that. No one forced you to do that.". Now, after this news came out, suddenly. netizens were not so passionate in. supporting Rabia. If she lied about. this, they're thinking, "What other. things could she not be telling us?" And. then some journalists thought it would. be a great idea for views to bring in. Rabia. and Suraj's famous actress mother at. separate times to talk about the case. and put the videos side by side. Zarina, Suraj's mom, went on to state about Gia, "I heard she used to smoke a lot. Suraj. would bring cigarettes for her and that.

is where their friendship started. They. didn't even date until December." She. also went on to allege that once Gia. came over to their family home because. she had gotten into a fight with her mom. and she had blood on her face. She said. Gia was crying hysterically and. allegedly Suraj confronted Rabia about. how she could do this to her own. daughter and allegedly Rabia said, "My. daughter is an attention seeker and is. always super dramatic." The family. accused Rabia of trying to get money. from her death. His mom also went on, and this. completely discredited her in my eyes, his mom went on to say the classic line,

"Suraj has always been a bit of a. naughty child, but he's innocent at. heart." So, back to the criminal trial, Suraj's alibi played a huge role in the. acquittal. Rabia's theory was that Suraj followed. her daughter home, snuck through the. window, strangled her, then staged her. death to look like something else. And. it took it takes a lot of time and. strength to do this. It is theoretically. possible, but potentially not that realistic. But, what if he didn't murder her?

What if he just pushed her to the point. where she couldn't take it anymore? That. is still a crime. But, there is still no. irrefutable evidence that he. continuously tortured her throughout the. relationship. And that's not me saying I. don't believe it, that's what the court. is saying. And in the end, Rabia did. admit that Gia struggled with. depression, that she had anxiety, she. was self-harming, and struggled with an. eating disorder, and she was under a lot. of pressure. She did confirm that Gia. had previously. had made attempts before. Okay, this is.

where I stand on this. I don't think it. matters. Because I think just because. you go through one dark period in your. life, does that mean that 20 years later. you are still more likely to do. something than anybody else that is. happy and adjusted? I don't think so, and I think it's a very cop-out way of. overlooking clues of foul play. I think. it's unfair. I think it's literally. being like, "De-stigmatize mental. health, but at the same time if you have. mental health, then I'm just going to. consider any suspicious death as you.

losing your mind. and doing this to yourself." Then you're. not de-stigmatizing mental health. Like. Yeah, so I can understand why she hid it. from the national lens because society. is accustomed to being like, "Oh, well. now this is a mom who can't come to. terms with the truth. This is a mom who. is just so sad and so in grief that. she's just coping in a weird way.". So he was acquitted and he went on to. tweet immediately afterwards. And his. tweet made a lot of people mad. He.

talked about how Jiah was under a lot of. pressure. She was the only one. supporting the entire family. She wasn't. getting enough work. He said that in. 2012 she had self-harmed. And he called. Rabia to tell her everything and she did. not show up to Mumbai for months. He. said, and I quote, "Is this a normal. parent-child relationship? I was there. for her and during that time we fell in. love. She was a wonderful person, but my. love for her wasn't enough. She needed. familial love." He went on to claim that. Rabia's helicopter parenting and. pressure led her to do this.

He thinks that Rabia is the one that. pushed her. Rabia believes that Sooraj is the one. that's. responsible. Now there are multiple. theories. The internet is divided. Some. people think that Rabia hid part of the. truth because she knew people would just. dismiss the case. Others believe that. Rabia is pushing so hard because she. just can't accept her daughter's death. Some people think that Rabia is pushing. hard because she wants money. Few people. believe that Sooraj killed Jiah with his. own two hands. That's not to say that.

Jiah wasn't murdered, Maybe somebody. else had done it, but most people. believe that he was somehow involved, whether he pushed her to the point to. this dark place, whether he had someone. else do it. He's definitely involved in. some way is what people think. I can't give you a definite answer. The. courts acquitted Sooraj, so in the eyes. of the law he is technically innocent, but Jiah's family is adamant that the. eyes of the law are wrong, which they. have been before. But one thing that I. guess I'm reminded of when we cover the. cases like this is if if I know my.

family member more than anyone on the. internet who has never met my family. member, if I know them and I know that they. would never do this and a bunch of. people online told me that I just can't. come to terms with the truth, I would. probably lose my mind. It just I think the one thing that keeps. getting me. is her sister was coming over. and the relationship she had with her. sister, I just can't imagine she would. do it in her sister's room.

Mhm. And wait for her sister and mom to find. her. And statistically it doesn't make. sense either. That's just the part that. I get so hung up on even more than the. blue tracksuit. What are your thoughts? But I don't know. I guess in the end all. we can say is I think that Bollywood. lost a very genuine and compassionate. soul. Let me know your thoughts. Please. stay safe and I will see you guys on. Wednesday for the main episode. Bye.