Tunisha’s family urges cops to probe murder angle

The Waliv police on Thursday also recorded the statements of the actress’ mother Vanita to find out the details of her conversation with the mother of Tunisha’s co-actor Sheezan Khan.

Mumbai: Eight days after she was found dead on the sets of her television serial, actress Tunisha Sharma’s family members have requested the Waliv police to investigate whether she could have been murdered. After giving his statement to the police on Thursday, Tunisha’s uncle Pawan Sharma told HT that he could not divulge what he had told the police since it could hamper the hamper the investigation. “However, we want the police to investigate the case from all angles, including the possibility of murder,” he said.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Thursday met Tunisha’s mother at her residence and assured her that he would ask advocate Ujjwal Nikam to be the special public prosecutor in the case and would also request deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to give the family a compensation of ₹25 lakh. Athawale has also promised the family ₹3 lakh from his party. (HT PHOTO)

The Waliv police on Thursday also recorded the statements of the actress’ mother Vanita to find out the details of her conversation with the mother of Tunisha’s co-actor Sheezan Khan, who has been arrested for allegedly abetting the 20-year-old actress’ suicide.

According to the Waliv police, a team from Apple on Thursday unlocked Tunisha’s phone which contains calls and messages exchanged between her and Khan’s mother and sister Falak Naaz. “We are likely to call Khan’s sisters and mother to record their statements on Friday,” said a police officer.

Apart from recording the statements of Tunisha’s friends and Khan’s relatives, the Waliv police have also called in the production manager of the serial ‘Ali Baba: Daastan-E-Kabul’, along with the DVR and CCTV recordings of the set where Tanusha died by suicide on Saturday.

“Since Khan is not cooperating with the investigation and not revealing his conversation with the deceased actress 15 minutes before she hanged herself, we are now trying to match the timing on the CCTV coverage with the statements of the witnesses and the timeline,” said the police officer. “The timeline would be from the time the actress entered the shooting set till the time her body was carried out of the studio.”

The police are also trying to find out whether any person overheard the conversation between Khan and the deceased minutes before she hanged herself. “Witnesses have told us that Tunisha had gone for her tea break after giving her shot,” said the police officer. “She did not look depressed then. After her tea break, when she did not return and when the staff went to check on her, they found her hanging in the bathroom.”

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Thursday met Tunisha’s mother at her residence and assured her that he would ask advocate Ujjwal Nikam to be the special public prosecutor in the case and would also request deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to give the family a compensation of ₹25 lakh. Athawale has also promised the family ₹3 lakh from his party.

The Vasai court has on Wednesday extended Sheezan Khan’s police custody by two days after the Waliv police told the court that a 15-minute conversation between him and the deceased in the green room purportedly led to her suicide on December 24. Khan was arrested by the Waliv police on December 25 for abetment to suicide.