Sooraj Pancholi gets death threats; life in danger

Even as the late and doomed Jiah Khan’s mother escalates her attempts to implicate Jiah’s boy-friend Sooraj Pancholi in a murder charge, Sooraj says he has been receiving death threats. “There’re nasty threatening messages from all over the world including neighbouring countries. I didn’t let them shake me up. I ignored them and moved on,” said the soft-spoken Sooraj. When pressed to elaborate further the soft-spoken Sooraj said, “The messages said things like, ‘You’ve done this to her. Now see what we do to you.’ There were abusive and taunting messages. I didn’t let them bother me.” Sooraj has now changed his phone number and is trying to focus on his screen debut. “I don’t allow myself to think about it. But I feel my life, not Nafisa (Jiah)’s mother’s life is under threat.” Baffled and confused by Jiah’s mother’s latest allegations suggesting that a friend of Sooraj claims Sooraj confessed to killing Jiah and to plotting to kill Jiah’s mother Sooraj says, “Who is this ‘friend’ of mine who has heard me say these things? Please bring him out in the open. I want to meet him...I respect Nafisa’s mother a lot in spite of her vicious attempts to destroy my life. She used to call me ‘beta’. Just why she has turned against me is beyond my understanding. In her heart she knows I am not guilty. I think she wants me to suffer because she has lost her daughter. By doing all this she can’t get her daughter back.” Sooraj says he feels no ill-will towards Jiah’s mother. “She is unable to come to terms with her daughter’s death. I understand what she’s going through. What she doesn’t understand is that I’ve also lost someone very close and dear to me. But by blaming someone else for her death I won’t get Nafisa back. She’s gone. And it’s best to accept the truth rather than blame the tragedy on others.” Does he feel resentful towards his dead girl-friend’s mother for her smearing campaign? “I feel no hatred for her. I only feel a lot of sorrow and sympathy. If I meet her I’ll hug her because we’re both grieving for the same person in completely different ways.”