Kritika Was an Addict, Attempted Suicide Earlier, Says Ex-Friend

The model-actor also had a troubled relationship with her former husband.

Kritika Choudhary, the 25-year-old small-time actress from Haridwar, who was found mysteriously dead in her Andheri apartment on Monday evening, was addicted to drugs. She had also attempted suicide on several occasions in the past, including a time when she climbed atop a building, and threatened to jump, said a former colleague and friend of the actor.

The female friend, who did not wish to be named as her family was against her liaising with Choudhary owing to her drug habits, stated that the actor had a troubled relationship with her former husband, a colleague from Delhi. Choudhary met the man while she was working with a cell phone network service provider in Delhi, and soon, the two fell in love, and decided to tie the knot.

However, Choudhary learnt that the man was already married to another woman, and after his divorce proceedings were cleared, Choudhary got married to him, and moved to Mumbai around five to six years ago. Here, they lived together in an apartment in Andheri. However, Choudhary soon realised that her husband was cheating on her. She decided to end the relationship, and is said to have approached the local police with a complaint against him.

Around three to four years ago, a model coordinator referred her profile to me, after which I called her for an audition. I also gave an assignment to her. She had already separated from her husband then, and was living in Mumbai alone. She would speak to her mother often, and on a couple of occasions, her mother spoke to me, asking me to take care of her. Her family seemed to be worried about her. It was natural, I suppose; she was a girl, living all alone in Mumbai. But then there were also her drug habits.

A source

The woman, upon learning about Choudhary’s addictions, confronted her, and asked her to quit since it would affect her physical and mental well-being as well as her career. However, the model did not seem to relent.

Also read: Haridwar Actor Kritika Was a Shiva Devotee, Social Media Buff

Once, under the influence of drugs, she climbed atop her building at Veera Desai Road in Andheri (West), and threatened to commit suicide. The security guard knew that I visited her often, and called me up, saying that Kritika was completely inebriated and uncontrollable. Even the cops arrived at the building. I wasn’t in Mumbai then, and quickly asked my brother to rush to the spot. He brought her down, and took her to her apartment. The landlord then asked her to vacate the flat, and she had to move elsewhere. That’s when I cut all ties with her. My husband and my family were always against me keeping in touch with her, and this incident just blew the lid.

“Her drug habit was out of hand. She would call some number, and get the drugs delivered to her apartment. I had tried to convince her to quit on many occasions. I counselled her even when she accompanied me to Delhi for my brother’s wedding. She would say she has quit, but every time I bumped into her after such a promise, I would find her high and unstable.”

The source revealed that Choudhary had attempted suicide on several occasions, and her left wrist had multiple blade marks. When asked if the actor was depressed, the source said she couldn’t tell since Choudhary was a loner, and would keep to herself at most times.

“She didn’t share much, except for the brawl with her husband. Even that she revealed after several months of knowing me, when I probed if she wasn’t scared of living alone in Mumbai. She never mentioned any friends, or boyfriend. Her latest Whatsapp profile picture, I’m told, is of hers with three other girls. I think it’s from her birthday celebrations on June 5.”

The woman stated that she learnt about Choudhary’s death when sleuths from the Mumbai crime branch turned up at her door on Monday evening, inquiring about the actress. They told her that Choudhary had listed her as a referee in the leave and license agreement of her apartment at Four Bungalows in Andheri (West), and that she would be required for investigations.

I was completely shocked when the cops got in touch with me. I hadn’t spoken to Kritika in at least two years, and yet, the agreement, which was signed in 2016, had my credentials. In fact, the agreement even had a no-objection certificate issued on my behalf. I was perplexed. I told the officers that I was living in Delhi since last year, and had not been in touch with her at all. The crime branch officers asked me to register a case of cheating and impersonation against Kritika’s agent.

Also read: Kritika Choudhary and Other Mysterious Deaths In the TV Industry

The woman also called the agent, who told her that Choudhary had asked him to list the source as a reference since the woman was her ‘didi.’

“I asked the agent how he could get the documents cleared without my identification proof or signatures, how he managed the verification without them. He said that the Amboli police cleared the application. I do not know who to blame,” she added.

The woman stated that she last saw Choudhary one-and-a-half years ago when she bumped into her accidentally. Choudhary told the woman then that she was pursuing a course in direction.

I messaged her on her birthday on June 5 this year, but she did not respond. She had blocked me on Whatsapp as well as her Facebook profile after our fall-out. I had never expected such a fate to befall her. Even though she had attempted to kill herself on several occasions, I don’t think this is a case of suicide. Her apartment door was locked from outside. Someone has murdered her.

(Puja Changoiwala is a journalist, and author of the critically-acclaimed true crime book, ‘The Front Page Murders.’)

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