The ugly side of life in tinsel town has been exposed once again as Shikha Joshi , a 40-year-old model-turned-actress of B.A. Pass fame, took her own life under mysterious circumstances at her MHADA flat in Versova, Mumbai, on the evening of May 16, 2015.
“The incident took place at around 6 pm. Joshi would stay in the flat with her friend. She went into the bathroom and slit her throat open using a sharp object. When she did not open the door for a long time, her friend knocked on the door and Joshi opened it. However, she collapsed immediately due to excessive bleeding” explained DCP Satya Narayan Chaudhry after Joshi was rushed to K okilaben Hospital in Andheri where she was pronounced dead.
However, what has brought Bollywood under scanner yet again is that the actress was reported to be depressed about not getting good offers, deteriorating financial health and a freak molestation incident. As an affirmation to the speculations, Joshi herself admitted to the cause of her depressed state in a mobile audio recording, moments before she slit her throat open with a kitchen knife and passed out.
“In 2011, the actress had filed a complaint alleging that a Khar cosmetic surgeon molested her when she went for a check-up after getting breast implants. Two years later, Shikha and her brother were arrested for allegedly hurling stones at the doctor’s residence”, said Joshi’s flatmate Madhu Bharti. According to Bharti, Joshi had shown suicidal symptoms and had confided in her of becoming tired of her life and that nobody should be blamed for her death. Madhu also claimed that Shikha had been drinking on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, registering a case of accidental death, s enior police inspector Ravindranath Pawar elaborated, “We have not found any suicide note. The kitchen knife used in the crime has been seized. She was staying with her friend, Madhu Bharti, whose statement is being recorded. Bharti was staying with Joshi for the last two months. Prima facie, it seems that Joshi took the extreme step due to frustration. Joshi is survived by a 19-year-old daughter who stays with her grand parents in Delhi. Joshi’s brother arrived in Mumbai and claimed her body.”
Saddened by the sudden demise of Joshi, Shilpa Shukla who had acted with Shikha Joshi in Ajay Bahl’s B.A. Pass , was among the first few celebrities to react on twitter: