The family of accused Sheezan Khan held a press conference on Monday to address the alleged accusations levelled against them by the family of late actor Tunisha Sharma. Accompanied by Sheezan’s lawyer, Shailendra Mishra, his sisters Falaq Naaz, Shafaq Naaz and his mother shared details about Tunisha’s past, when she was allegedly mistreated by her family. They refuted the claims set across by Tunisha’s mother, Vanita Sharma, about Sheezan having a ‘secret girlfriend’ and that Tunisha was ‘forced’ to wear a hijab.
At the press conference, Mishra stated, “Tunisha’s so-called uncle Pawan Sharma was her former manager, he was fired 4 yrs ago because he used to interfere a lot & behave harshly with her.” He went on to say, “Tunisha & Sanjeev Kaushal (an uncle in Chandigarh) had terrible relations. Sanjeev Kaushal & her mother, Vanita used to control Tunisha’s finances. Tunisha often pleaded in front of her mother for her own money.”
Mishra added, “Tunisha used to panic a lot upon hearing name of Sanjeev Kaushal. On instigation of Sanjeev Kaushal, Tunisha’s mother broke her phone & tried to strangulate her. Sanjeev Kaushal & Tunisha’s mother used to control Tunisha’s life.” The lawyer claimed Tunisha’s family used to control her finances and were responsible for her anxiety attacks and depression prior to her death.
Addressing the accusations set across by Vanita, Sheezan’s sister Shafaq Naaz said the photo of Tunisha in hijab was actually from the show, not real life. She said, “The picture of Tunisha in hijab being circulated is from the set of the show which was part of the shoot. It can be seen. We never made her wear hijab, it was from the channel.”
His other sister Falaq Naaz said, “Sheezan didn’t have any other girlfriend. That girl was called for recording her statement. There’s no secret girlfriend.” She added, “Tunisha’s mother accepted that she has been neglecting Tunisha & that she didn’t take care of her. Tunisha’s depression was due to her childhood trauma.”
Tunisha, who was only 20, was found dead on December 24 on the sets of her TV show Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul. Her co-star and ex-boyfriend Sheezan was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days on Saturday.