Sheezan Khan's family and lawyer claim Tunisha Sharma's mother used to control her finances, dominate her life; Top highlights from their press conference

Sheezan Khan's mother, sisters - Falaq and Shafaq Naaz along with their advocate Shailendra Mishra on Monday (January 2) morning rubbished claims levelled against them in the Tunisha Sharma suicide case. They clarified that Sheezan and Tunisha broke up on mutual consent and that their brother didn't slap her 15 minutes before she died by suicide. And this is not a love jihad case as they never forced Tunisha to wear a hijab or learn Urdu. Here are the highlights of the press conference held by them.

Sheezan's lawyer said a day before her suicide Tunisha had showed a photo of 'phansi ka fanda' on her mobile to co-star Parth Zutshi. Even Ayush Shrivastava and Sheezan were present there. Parth got angry and tried to pacify her. Even Sheezan talked to her. She denied having intentions of doing anything. They informed Tunisha's mom after she came on set. They were asked to talk their hearts out and her mother was asked to be with her and not leave her alone. Her mother still left her alone. For many consecutive nights, Tunisha wasn't at home. On 24th December, Tunisha and Sheezan were not together before she died by suicide. Tunisha talked to someone else and not Sheezan. The interrogation is being done by the police."

Sheezan's sisters - Shafaq and Falaq Naaz - who were there at the press conference showed photos from the shoot and said, "Tunisha's mother is saying that she was forced to wear hijab, this is the proof that it was from the channel and not us. Hijab, dargah is out of question. Our religion is personal to us. We don't force anyone or show things in public. You know us for years, our life is an open book." The two also said that while playing a character, you tend to start speaking the language, or keep wearing the same clothes, since you work for so long on set. They said that the question here is not about religion but someone's mental health. Sheezan's mother then said, "Vanita Sharma accused Falaq of taking Tunisha to dargah, but then you don't know where and when it was done. She accused Sheezan of slapping Tunisha, but then she didn't take any action or come to my house. Her single child has left. And the lawyer is taking power of attorney. She has gone."

The advocate said, "Tunisha's so-called uncle Pawan Sharma was her former manager. He was fired 4 years ago because he used to interfere a lot and behave harshly with Tunisha. Pawan is not their relative. Tunisha's mom has not laid as many allegations as Pawan Sharma has."

At the press conference, Sheezan's lawyer claimed that Tunisha had terrible ties with her family and her mother knows it very well. "After her father's demise, Tunisha used to remain upset. The last birthday she celebrated with her father was the only one where she was happy. It was the first time she was going to celebrate happily. Tunisha and Sanjeev Kaushal's relationship is being investigated by police. But the two of them used to control Tunisha's finances and her life. Tunisha often pleaded in front of her mother for her own money. Her mother used to question her a lot before sending money despite the money being earned by Tunisha."

The lawyer said, "Before lockdown, Sanjeev Kaushal had come to Mumbai for treatment. He insisted on taking Tunisha to Chandigarh. Her mother asked the actress to go but she refused. Tunisha used to panic a lot upon hearing the name of Sanjeev Kaushal. They had terrible ties. When Tunisha refused to go, Tunisha's mom Vanita broke her mobile and tried to strangulate her on the instigation of Sanjeev Kaushal. Back then, Tunisha had informed about this to the director of her show and also Kanwar Dhillon. After this, her mother and Sanjeev left for Chandigarh for 3 months. Tunisha then lived with Kanwar Dhillon. Sanjeev Kaushal and Vanita's relation, how they used to operate and dominate Tunisha..all this disturbed Tunisha. After the death of her cousin in 2016, Tunisha also underwent treatment in Chandigarh."

"After 2016, something happened in Chandigarh that made Sanjeev Kaushal throw Tunisha Sharma and her mother out of the house at night. They came to Mumbai. That's when Pawan Sharma, as a manager, got work for Tunisha Sharma. More than that, Tunisha and Pawan were not connected or related. After a few days, Tunisha had fired him as she was unhappy with his interference. Her real 'Mama' who was present at the funeral has not given a single byte to the media but her so-called Mama Pawan Sharma has made baseless allegations."

Falaq said, "Vanita Sharma was invited to Sheezan's birthday. I have proof of photos. I threw a party on 9th September in Lokhandwala. She had come with Sheezan in her car. Vanita had come on Diwali at our home. Tunisha's birthday is on the 4th (January). I was planning a surprise birthday party at midnight on 3rd January. Vanita had called me on December 23 asking me about birthday plans. She had plans of hosting a grand birthday party with the media on the 4th. Tunisha didn't want the media and liked family. I wanted to give her that and bring in her birthday at night. She was at home at the launch party of the show."

Sheezan's advocate said, "It wasn't Tunisha's first relationship. She had two break-ups before this but she never broke down because of this. She had known Sheezan and his family for 6 months because of the show. In their relationship of 2 months, they decided to focus on their careers and discuss everything later. Sheezan's arrest is illegal. Power of arrest has been misused by police. The Supreme court has in a series of judgement asked not to arrest mechanically. Her mother has sensationalised the matter to mislead the media. There is no mystery girlfriend."