Mysterious Celebrity Deaths In India That Left Fans Stunned

YouTuber and social media influencer Rifa Mehnu died by suicide on March 11, leaving her fans reeling with shock and grief. A woman of Indian roots, Mehnu had been living in UAE with her husband Mehnaz Mehnu and also had a child. The social media influencer, in her twenties, was born in Kerala in 2002.

Rifa Mehnu was a prominent social media content creator who worked alongside her husband, amassing an Instagram following of nearly 300 thousand. Mehnu posted fashion, travel and personal life vlogs on her social media pages. According to reports, ended her life under unknown circumstances and there is no clarity on what triggered her to take this extreme step. However, this is not the first time that an Indian celebrity has passed away under mysterious circumstances.

In the past too, there have been numerous high profile celebrity deaths which, despite being widely reported, remain unsolved to an extent.

Here is a list of mysterious celebrity deaths that have left fans with numerous questions:

Parveen Babi

Actor Parveen Babi is known for her roles in films like Namak Halaal, Dewaar, Amar Akbar Anthony, among others. The actor was allegedly suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Babi was found dead at her home in 2005 and her body was found three days later her death. While the cause of her death was not established immediately, the police suggested that  Babi died due to organ failure and diabetes. The actor lived in isolation during her last years, seldom making public appearances.

Suggested Reading: Sepia Stories: How we Failed Parveen Babi, both Alive and Dead

Divya Bharti

A popular star of the early 90s, Divya Bharti worked predominantly in Hindi and Telugu-language films. She is known for her roles in Hindi films like Vishwathma, Shola Aur Shabnam and Deewana. The actor married producer and filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala in 1992. There were many rumours around the death of Divya Bharti in 1993 as she allegedly fell off from the balcony of her apartment on fifth floor. Some suggest that the actor had been intoxicated and lost her balance. Others suggest that the actor had been pushed off by someone. Some have also alleged that Bharti died by suicide. The police shut their investigation into Divya Bharti's death in 1998 stating the cause as accidental death.

Jiah Khan

British-American actor Jiah Khan made her debut with Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Gopal Varma's Nishabd. She went on to work in films like Ghajini and Housefull. In 2013 the actor allegedly died by suicide. According to reports, she left a six-page long suicide letter reportedly accusing actor and her then-boyfriend Suraj Pancholi of her death. In 2016, the Central Bureau of Investigation declared the cause of her death as suicide by hanging. However, her mother hired a British forensic expert who suggested that her suicide could have been staged owing to the marks on her neck and face.

Sridevi

Iconic Bollywood actor Sridevi is known for her roles in films including English Vinglish, Mom, Judaai and Chandni among others. Sridevi died at the age of 54 on February 24, 2018. The tragic incident happened when the actor was attending her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding in Dubai. Her body was discovered by her husband Boney Kapoor. She was found drowned in the bathtub in her hotel room. The Dubai police declared the cause of death as accidental drowning due to unconsciousness.