Mumbai: Molested by Doc, Fed Up With Men, Model Slits Own Throat

Mumbai: A 40-year-old model and actor allegedly committed suicide by slitting her throat at her Versova residence on Saturday afternoon.

Shikha Joshi, had filed a molestation case against a Khar-based doctor in 2011 and, in an audio clip purportedly recorded after the suicide attempt, she said she had taken her life because of harassment by the doctor and because she was fed up of men.

Joshi's brother has, however, alleged that she was murdered and the police said they are not ruling out the possibility.

Joshi had done a small role in the award-winning Hindi film B.A. Pass, which had released in India in 2013.

TROUBLED
In October 2011, Joshi had filed a molestation complaint against the doctor for touching her inappropriately when she had gone to his clinic for treatment. She had attempted suicide by consuming sleeping pills in 2012 and, in November 2013, she had been arrested by the Amboli police for pelting stones at the residence of the doctor.

Joshi, who hails from Delhi, was reportedly not doing well in her career for the last few years and had not been getting work, making it difficult for her to make rent or send money to her family members.

POOL OF BLOOD
Joshi used to stay in the New MHADA Colony in Versova with her husband Riyaz Pathan and flatmate Madhu Harti. On Saturday, Harti heard screams coming from the bathroom and when she forced the door open, she found Joshi lying in a pool of blood, with a knife next to her. Joshi's husband was not present in the flat and when Harti called him, he said he was in Malad.

Harti told the Versova police that she got scared that she would be held responsible for Joshi's death since she was the only other person present in the flat at the time, and, thus, recorded Joshi's statement on the phone before taking her to Kokilaben Hospital. In the clip, Joshi can be heard saying that the Khar-based doctor had been harassing her and she was fed up with men, because of which she was taking the drastic step.

In her statement, Harti has said, "She had not been going out of the house since three days before the incident. On Saturday, she started drinking around 12.30 pm. After the incident, I made the clip before taking her to the hospital as the cops would suspect me because I was the only person present in the flat when the incident took place."

MURDER ANGLE
Joshi's brother has, however, alleged that the doctor and Harti killed his sister and that she would never commit suicide. "Had the doctor been punished, this would not have happened," he said.

COPSPEAK
"We have recorded the statement of her flatmate, Harti, we have send the audio clip to Forensic Science Laboratory in Kalina to ascertain the authenticity of the tape. We will check her call detail record and try to find out whom she was in touch with. On the basis of primary information, we have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR). We will arrest the Khar-based doctor soon, after the FSL report confirms that it is Joshi's voice in the audio clip," said an officer from the Versova police station.