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Laila Khan

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For the Pakistani singer, see Laila Khan (singer).

Laila Khan
Born
Reshma Patel

1978
Mumbai, India
Died30 January 2011
Mumbai, India
Cause of deathHomicide
NationalityIndian
SpouseMunir Khan
Parents
  • Nadir Shah Patel (father)
  • Atiya Patel (mother)

Laila Khan (born Reshma Patel; 1978 – 30 January 2011) was a Bollywood actress, best known for her role opposite Rajesh Khanna in the 2008 movie Wafa: A Deadly Love Story. She was allegedly married to Munir Khan, a member of the banned Bangladeshi Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh.[1] Khan, along with some members of her family, was allegedly killed by her third father in 2011 in Maharashtra.[2]

Film career

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Laila Khan made her film debut under the stage name of Laila Patel in the Kannada film Makeup (2002). A critic noted that she "has nothing much to do".[3] In 2008, she starred in Wafa: A Deadly Love Story in which she was paired opposite Rajesh Khanna. The film released to negative reviews with one critic noting that "Wafaa can be counted among the worst films of the year (maybe of all time)".[4]

Alleged role in terror activities

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Laila Khan allegedly supplied the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist organisation was planning an attack, with information on the city of Mumbai.[5]

Disappearance

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On the night of 30 January 2011, Khan, accompanied by her mother Shelina, older sister Hashmina, twin siblings Imran and Zara, and cousin Rehshma, drove out of Mumbai towards their holiday home in Igatpuri, 126 km north of Mumbai. On 9 February 2011, Khans's mother spoke with her sister, Albana Patel, and said that she was in Chandigarh with her third husband Pervez Iqbal Tak. After this, the family vanished without a trace.[6]

Subsequently, Khan's father, Nadir Shah Patel (Shelina's first husband), filed a complaint at a Mumbai police station stating that his daughter had gone missing along with other members of her family.[7] A similar complaint was also filed by Bollywood film actress Rakhi Sawant, who was shooting her second film, Jinnat, with Khan just before she disappeared from Mumbai.

Nadir Shah Patel has appealed to the Bombay High Court on 17 July 2012 seeking transfer of his daughter's murder case from Crime Branch to NIA, alleging that the former did not probe the case promptly.[8]

Police investigation and arrest of suspects

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Khan's step-fathers, Parvez Iqbal Tak, a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba member, and Asif Sheikh (Shelina's second husband), were suspected of being behind Khan and her family's disappearance. Police also questioned Nadir Shah Patel during the investigation.

Parvez Iqbal Tak was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in connection with another case on 21 June 2012. During interrogation Tak admitted that Khan and some members of her family were shot dead in Maharashtra in February 2011. The next day Tak retracted his story, claiming instead that Khan and her family were still alive. The Crime Branch of Mumbai Police investigating the kidnapping case brought Tak to Mumbai, where he was produced before Esplanade Court, Southern Mumbai on 10 July 2012. The Court sent Tak to Police custody until 19 July.[9] Confessing before the Crime Branch, Tak changed his statement for a third time, claiming instead, that he intended to kill Khan's mother Shelina for continuously humiliating him, and for having relationship with other men. Tak told interrogators that he, along with his associates killed Khan and her five family members and buried their bodies behind her Igatpuri bungalow. He allegedly killed all of them as Khan had witnessed her mother's murder. Owing to Tak's continuously changing statements, the Mumbai Police was reluctant to place full reliance on his testimony.[10][11] Tak was taken to Igatpuri to corroborate the claims he made during his interrogation.[12]

Asif Sheikh was arrested from Bengaluru. Sheikh confessed that he and Tak shot and killed Khan and her family.[10][13] Asif Sheikh's name was revealed as one of the co-conspirators by Parvez Tak in his earlier confession before the Jammu and Kashmir Police.[14]

While examining Khan's Igatpuri bungalow, the Police investigation team found six buried bodies, believed to be those of Khan and her family members.[15]

Aftermath

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It is believed that money, jealousy, property and possible shifting of the family to Dubai were the cause of the family murder.[16] Investigation of Tak revealed that he intended to flee to Nepal where his Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) connections would have helped him to avoid arrest. He was, however, arrested by the J&K police in another case, before he could flee to Nepal.[17]

The Police has also detained two persons - Jolly Guilder and Mehboob, who Tak had hired to drive Khan's car from Igatpuri to Indore and onward to Delhi, and finally to Kishtwar where it was eventually recovered.[18]

As a part of their investigations, police are likely to open Khan's bank locker and scan three bank accounts of the family.[19] In November 2012, based on a DNA test report crime branch officer claimed that the remains discovered at Khan's Igatpuri farmhouse belonged to her and her relatives.[20]

12 years after murder, Parvez Tak received death sentence on May 24 2024 [21][22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "All about B-Town starlet Laila Khan". Archived from the original on 11 July 2012.
  2. ^ "None". Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  3. ^ "FILM REVIEWS: Makeup (Kannada)". Deccan Herald. 10 November 2002. Archived from the original on 1 February 2003. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Review: Wafaa". Hindustan Times. 19 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Missing starlet Laila Khan recced Mumbai for LeT in 2011". IBN Live. Mumbai. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012.
  6. ^ "No luck in probe into missing starlet Laila Khan". India Today. 5 July 2012.
  7. ^ Lipika Varma (12 June 2012). "Laila Khan kidnapped?". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Laila Khan's father moves HC seeking CBI probe". 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Laila case: Forest contractor brought to Mumbai". 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Missing actor Laila Khan is dead, key accused Parvez Iqbal Tak says". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Laila killed as she saw mom's murder: Parvez Tak". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Laila Khan case: Tak taken to Nashik for probe". Archived from the original on 11 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Suspect confesses he killed Laila, her family".
  14. ^ "Laila Khan murder mystery persists; 3 more accused". 6 July 2012.
  15. ^ Ghosh, Shami (11 July 2012). "Laila Khan case: Actress, family killed with iron rods after BBQ party". NDTV. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Greed, jealousy drove Tak to murder starlet and family: Police". 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  17. ^ "Laila Khan killer Tak wanted to flee to Nepal, seek LeT help". 12 July 2012.
  18. ^ "Laila Khan case: Six skeletons found at her farmhouse, say sources".
  19. ^ "Cops may open Laila Khan's locker". The Times of India. 19 July 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
  20. ^ "DNA tests show recovered remains are that of Laila, kin". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  21. ^ "Laila Khan murder: Actor's stepfather gets death penalty in 'rarest of rare case'". Indian Today. 24 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Murders of Laila Khan, Kin: Prosecution Seeks Death". Free Press.
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