Tearful adieu to Tunisha; Sheezan's mother, sister attend last rites

The last rites of actor Tunisha Sharma were held on Tuesday in Mumbai in the presence of her family members and industry colleagues.

Tunisha's co-star and accused Sheezan Khan's mother and sister also reached the cremation ground to pay their last respects.

Sharma, known for TV shows such as Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul and films such as Fitoor, died by suicide on Saturday on the sets of her serial.

She was 21.

Following a post-mortem examination at J J Hospital, her mortal remains were brought to Tembha Hospital in Mira Bhayandar and then taken to her Mira Road home.

She was cremated at Ghodev Shamshan Bhumi in Bhayandar East.

Sharma's mother Vanita Sharma was inconsolable and fell unconscious during her last rites.

Some of television's known faces and the actor's friends including Vishal Jethwa, Kanwar Dhillon, Sayantani Ghosh, Shivin Narang, Deepika Goyal with husband Rohit Raj Goyal, Avneet Kaur, director duo Abbas-Mustan, Siddharth Nigam, and Ashnoor Kaur came to pay their last respects.

The 13th day of mourning will be held on January 5 in Chandigarh, Sharma's uncle said.

Sharma's co-star Sheezan Khan was arrested on Sunday for allegedly abetting her suicide. Khan is currently in four-day police custody.

Meanwhile, the sisters of actor Sheezan have appealed for "respecting their family's privacy".

In a statement shared on Instagram, Shafaq Naaz and Falaq Naaz wrote, "As much as everyone is eager to know the 'other side of the story', we are equally curious to know, but for time being we'd like for you to allow us privacy in this grave situation. Both families are victims at this point. Let the right time come and we will address the matter for sure. But this is not the right time. A death is a painful situation everyone needs to honour the privacy of the affected Families and give them the space to mourn and carry on with the funeral first."

"It is such an unfortunate state that we lost a precious soul and another is arrested. Accusations have been leveled against Sheezan and the police are investigating the case. Let police take the call. I am confident that an innocent guy has been framed without an application of mind. This situation has been overwhelming for the family members and we'd like to take this time to co-operate with the police and let the truth come out," the statement read.