Pratyusha Banerjee suicide: Rahul Singh granted interim protection from arrest

Mumbai: Rahul Raj Singh granted interim protection from arrest till April 18 in actress Pratyusha's death case. Singh has been directed to attend Bangur Nagar police station everyday from tomorrow onwards between 11am and 1pm. Singh is facing charge of driving pratyusha to commit suicide.

The judge also directed that in case Rahul is arrested, he should be released on a bond of Rs 30,000. The court was hearing the anticipatory bail application filed by Rahul.

Rahul's lawyer Abad Ponda said his client is currently in hospital and the copy of FIR has not been furnished to them.

However, police has filed a report before the court. The court then perused the report, in which police alleged that Rahul, who was staying with Pratyusha at a flat in suburban Goregaon, used to assault her. He used to borrow money from her and also withdrew money from Pratyusha's account, which is why she committed suicide, according to the report.

It was Rahul, who found her body a few hours later and rushed her to Kokilaben Hospital where she was declared dead. He then informed the police and her uncle about her death.

According to reports, Pratyusha took this drastic step due to mounting financial pressures over the last year. According to Rahul’s father, Hashvardhan Singh, Pratyusha was under severe mental pressure because she did not have enough money left to sustain her expenses, and that her parents had used her name to take a loan of Rs 50 lakh, due to which she was being hassled by creditors.

On the other hand, Pratyusha’s friends claim that Rahul was cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend. According to reports, Rahul’s ex-girlfriend had assaulted Pratyusha on several occasions in Rahul’s absence. But when Pratyusha complained to him, he took no action. He has even physically assaulted her in public.

On Saturday, Rahul was quizzed about his and Pratyusha's incomes, their investments and expenses, previous relationships that the two had and allegations of assault.

At the time of Pratyusha’s autopsy, Rahul told the media, “We never had any serious fight. We were happy and planning to get married soon. I used to love her so much and I don't know why she took such a step. She was upset about her career but I tried to calm her down every time. This time too, I tried to save her but in vain…”

Pratyusha was best known for her debut role in Balika Vadhu. Thereafter, she shifted to reality shows and participated in Bigg Boss 7. Pratyusha’s last outing on TV was in Sasural Simar Ka where she played a role that had negative shades.