Pratyusha suicide: Police probing domestic violence angle, friends grilled
Mumbai: Police on Saturday launched a probe into the case of alleged suicide of TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee of the hit TV drama Balika Vadhu and questioned her boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh even as some friends claimed things were not going well in her personal life, a contention dismissed by her kin.
Pratyusha’s mother was inconsolable and kept saying, “I don’t know why my daughter did this.” According to reports, she was facing problems in her relationship with Rahul, who is being questioned by police.
Pratyusha Banerjee was reportedly dating Rahul, a TV producer. “We are recording the statement of Rahul in connection with the suicide. We are also checking the last phone call details and the SMSes exchanged between the duo,” a senior police official said. Although Rahul was not detained, he was brought to Siddharth Municipal Hospital in suburban Goregaon where the autopsy of the actress was conducted, police said.
A senior police official said Pratyusha’s parents didn’t level any allegations against Rahul in their statement. Her parents said Pratyusha and her boyfriend did fight sometimes, but patched up soon thereafter. Police hadn’t found any indication of foul play either, he added. As per preliminary report of doctors, “provisional cause of death” was asphyxia, a police officer said. Her viscera has been sent to a lab for chemical analysis.
Some of Pratyusha’s friends however said things were not going well in her personal life. “There were injury marks on her nose, under her eyes. We have taken pictures (as a proof)... police are probing domestic violence angle. We will give our statement to the police,” Pratyusha’s actress friend Kamya Punjabi claimed. Her last rites were performed at Oshiwara crematorium as friends and family bid a tearful adieu to her.
