Indian Actress Shikha Joshi Found Dead With A Knife Lodged In Her Throat – Police Label It A Suicide

An aspiring Indian actress was found dead in her apartment. While there are quite a few apparent anomalies, the local law enforcement authorities have chalked up the death as suicide, paving way for a quick resolution of the case.

Model-turned-actress, Shikha Joshi, 40, was discovered with a sharp knife lodged in her throat in her home in Andheri, a sprawling suburb in northern Mumbai, a bustling city famous for its Hindi film industry. The police have quickly labeled the incident as suicide and even reasoned, “continued lack of employment led her to take her own life.”

Having arrived merely two months back from Delhi, the capital of India, Ms. Shikha wanted to gain a foothold in the ever growing Hindi film industry, often referred to as Bollywood. Staying at her friend’s house, Shikha’s routine was quite similar to thousands of struggling actors and actresses who throng to the gates of production houses, directors, and casting agencies. Interestingly, Shikha already had a critically acclaimed Bollywood film BA PAss wherein she had starred alongside Shilpa Shukla, another known figure in the film industry.

The incident that unfolded in the evening, as narrated by her roommate, has been recorded by the police, stated senior inspector Ravindranath Pawar.

“At 6.30 p.m. on Saturday Joshi locked herself inside the bathroom, taking a knife along. A few minutes later, the roommate knocked on the bathroom door asking Joshi to come out. The roommate asked Joshi why she was taking so long inside. When the door opened, her neck was covered in blood,”

The inspector added that the roommate rushed a profusely bleeding, but still responsive Shikha to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, a well-reputed hospital in the vicinity.

“On the way to the hospital, Joshi was conscious and able to talk. When the roommate asked why she cut herself, Joshi said that she was frustrated because she could not get any work.”

According to preliminary investigations, Shikha had three small but distinct puncture marks on the neck apart from a large cut. Though the medical investigator’s report is still due, the inspector has summarized a report.

“The smaller marks indicate her first attempts at committing suicide. They also show that a person gets cold feet at the last minute before finally committing the act. Had she been attacked by someone with a knife, there would be only one long cut. The nature of the cuts on the neck makes us believe that this is a suicide.”

Unfortunately, Shikha didn’t make it alive to the hospital and was declared dead on arrival by the resident doctors. Surprisingly, the law seems adamant at treating the incident as an “accidental death” and a case, with similar wordings has been registered.

Those who knew Shikha strongly maintain that she wouldn’t have committed suicide. Combined with the highly unusual and extremely painful choice of self-execution, many strongly feel the case certainly doesn’t lean towards suicide.

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