Sheezan Khan’s mother Kehekshan and sisters Falaq Naaz and Shafaq Naaz, along with his lawyer Shailendra Mishra, held a press conference on Monday to address the allegations levelled against him by Tunisha Sharma’s mother, Vanita Sharma. Tunisha reportedly died by suicide on December 24, 2022. She was found hanging in a makeup room of the set of her TV show Ali Baba Dastaan-e-Kabul. Her co-actor Sheezan, with whom she was in a relationship, was arrested subsequently for abetment to suicide. He is currently in judicial custody. In the last few days, Tunisha’s family has accused Sheezan of cheating on her and even pressuring her to convert to Islam.

At the press conference, talking about forcing Tunisha to wear hijab and learn Urdu, Falaq, who is also an actress said, “Hijab aur dargah ka sawaal hi nahi uthta. The picture doing the rounds in which Tunisha can be seen wearing a hijab is from the shoot of their show. It was during Ganesh Chaturthi when they performed a puja in their costumes. Tunisha was like a sister to me and we shared a beautiful bond.”

Actress Shafaq said, “Also, the allegation of him consuming drugs is absolutely baseless. And there is no mystery girlfriend. He was single after he broke up with Tunisha.”

Lawyer Shailendra added, “The angle of love jihad has been dismissed by the police. There is no connection between Tunisha’s suicide and Sheezan’s family. The two broke up 15 days before the incident, which is known to all. They had moved on and continued to be on good terms.”

Tunisha’s mother has also accused Sheezan of slapping the actress when she confronted him about cheating on her. About this, Sheezan’s mother said, “Why didn’t Tunisha’s mother come to our place and talk about it or slap Sheezan herself? Was she waiting for something drastic to happen? Her only mission should be to find out why her daughter died by suicide and ensure that Tunisha gets justice. We also want justice for her. We have lost Tunisha, who was like a daughter to us. But that family is now torturing my son by levelling allegations that are not true. What does Vanita ji want? Ek bachhi ne suicide kar liya aur doosri maa ka bachha bhi suicide kar le kya aapke torture aur pressure mein aakar?”

Shailendra alleged that Tunisha didn’t share a great equation with her family. He said, “Tunisha ke khud ki family ke saath sambhandh sahi nahi thay. Even the two men, Pawan Sharma and Sanjeev Kaushal, who are claiming to be her uncles, are not her close relatives. In fact, Pawan Sharma was Tunisha’s manager, who was sacked by her four years ago. Her mother, along with Sanjeev, would control Tunisha and her money.”

He added that Sheezan is disturbed and needs counselling. He said, “An inmate in Taloja jail where Sheezan is, ended his life three days ago. Keeping that in mind, we have appealed for counselling and security. We want him to be under observation constantly. He shouldn’t be left alone. Jisne poori zindagi mein na police dekhi na court dekha, achaanak aaj pure media ke saamne woh trial face kar raha hai.”

Actor Sheezan Khan’s family has come out in support of Khan, who has been accused of abetting the suicide of his co-worker and former girlfriend Tunisha Sharma. They alleged that it was Sharma’s mother Vanita who pushed her to take her own life by forcing her to work as an actor even when she was a child. They further claimed that Vanita did not care for Sharma or her mental health. Khan’s lawyer, said that they would soon file a bail application.

Sharma hanged herself to death at a Vasai studio on December 24. The incident came on the heels of her break up with Khan. Sharma’s mother, Vanita, had alleged that Sharma took the extreme step due to the break up and further claimed that Sharma was forced to wear hijab and that Khan had allegedly cheated on Sharma.

Khan’s family members—his mother Kahekshan Faisi and two sisters Falaq and Shafaq Naaz—shared their response to the allegations at a press conference on Monday. They said, “Tunisha started her career as an actor at the tender age of 10. Her mother Vanita wanted to become an actor but as she failed, she pinned her hopes on Tunisha and forced her to work as an actor.”

“Sharma suffered from anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder and needed treatment, but her mother never gave her the required treatment. She kept forcing her to continue work for money and hurt her many times,” they alleged. 

Speaking about the day the incident took place, Khan’s family said, “Tunisha wanted to go out to celebrate Christmas on December 24, but her mother forced her to stay and sign new shoots. Tunisha was very sad about this. In fact, just 10 days before this, she had a panic attack and had to be hospitalized. When we visited her then, her mother said it was due to work stress. We even suggested to her mother to not force her to work and give her some time to enjoy life.”

The family also alleged that they have an audio clip where Sharma could be heard crying due to her mother. They said that Vanita would always pick fights with her despite Sharma amassing properties worth Rs. 16 crores. 

Khan’s mother said, “When Tunisha was in Ladakh for a shoot, her mother would call her frequently and kept asking about her whereabouts. Vanita never left Tunisha alone. And if she did not answer her phone, Vanita would call crew members. Tunisha wanted freedom to work and live a peaceful life, but her mother did not let her.” 

Khan’s family further claimed that they had a good relationship with Tunisha and that she would share her problems with them. “Tunisha was fed up with her life. Sheezan was supporting her and her career as a friend and a boyfriend. It is true that they broke up but it was mutual and they did not fight with each other. Also, Vanita’s allegation that Sheezan slapped her is false. In fact, Tunisha and Sheezan ticked off one of the things on her bucket list together,” they said. 

When asked about the allegation of forcing Sharma to wear a hijab and the relevant photo, they said it was part of a shoot and added that the episode where Sharma had to wear the headscarf has been telecast and a copy of the same has been submitted to Waliv police as evidence. 

Refuting allegations that Khan had multiple girlfriends, his lawyer Shailendra Mishra said, “Sheezan didn’t have any other girlfriend and he didn’t cheat on Tunisha. It was a mutual break up. Whatever chat Sheezan deleted from his phone is being recovered by the cops and the truth will come out. We will file a bail application to get Sheezan out soon. Sheezan and his family have no role in Tunisha’s death.”

(From left) Tunisha Sharma, her mother Vanita, Sheezan Khan’s mother Kahekshan Faisi, and Sheezan Khan