Laila Khan and Rajesh Khanna.
The personal life of Bollywood stars is mostly a different story hidden behind their glamorous persona. On-screen their life may look idyllic, but their real-life experiences can be quite different. One such example is actress Laila Khan, who was born as Reshma Patel in 1978. She was allegedly murdered by her stepfather. The actress passed away on 30 January 2011.
Worked with Rajesh Khanna
Laila Khan, a Bollywood actress, appeared opposite Rajesh Khanna in the 2008 film ‘Wafa: A Deadly Love Story’. Laila’s name came up in a disturbing and tragic case. Born as Reshma Patel, Laila Khan was allegedly married to Munir Khan, a member of the banned terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh. In 2011, Laila Khan and several family members were reported missing and later it was revealed that they were murdered.
had suddenly disappeared
On 30 January 2011, Laila Khan’s family, including her wife, mother-in-law, siblings and cousin, left Mumbai for their holiday home in Igatpuri. On 9 February 2011, Khan’s mother, while talking to her sister, claimed to be in Chandigarh with her third husband, Parvez Iqbal Tak. The entire family then disappeared. Laila Khan’s father filed a missing person’s report and Bollywood director Rakesh Sawant, who was working with Laila Khan, also filed a missing person’s report.
This is how the investigation began
After this, on 17 July 2012, Laila Khan’s father Nadir Shah Patel appealed to the Bombay High Court to hand over the investigation of his daughter’s case from the Crime Branch to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It was alleged that the Crime Branch was not investigating properly. Laila Khan’s stepfather and suspected member of terrorist groups Parvez Iqbal Tak and Asif Sheikh’s name came up in this case, but they claimed that they have been framed. Tak was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on 21 June 2012 in connection with another case.
Bodies found buried in the ground
Tak initially admitted during interrogation that Laila Khan and several members of her family were shot dead in Maharashtra in February 2011. However, he later retracted this statement and claimed that they were still alive. Eventually, Tak confessed to the Mumbai Crime Branch that he wanted to kill Khan’s mother Shelina for personal reasons and that he had killed Laila Khan and her family and buried them behind his bungalow in Igatpuri. Asif Sheikh, who was arrested in Bengaluru, also confessed to being involved in the murders along with Tak. During the investigation, the police found six bodies buried near Khan’s bungalow, which were believed to be Laila Khan and her family members. This was also confirmed in DNA tests.
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