Pratyusha Banerjee was found dead in the apartment she shared with Singh
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An Indian court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of
Pratyusha Banerjee's boyfriend, Rahul Raj Singh, it has been reported.
The actor has been charged with assault, criminal intimidation and
abetting the suicide of the 24-year-old, who was found dead on 1 April.
The star of Hindi TV drama, Balika Vadhu, Banerjee was
discovered hanging from a ceiling fan in her Mumbai home. It was
initially alleged that she committed suicide, however no note was found
and her family and friends have cast doubt over suggestions that she
would take her own life.
In the sessions court, the prosecution presented information
including details of a phone call Pratyusha made just hours before her
death, details of Singh's alleged infidelity, as well as statements from
friends and family, that they argue indicates that her death could have
been murder and not suicide, The Indian Express reports.
During the 20-minute hearing, public prosecutor Datta
Mudiganti alleged that Singh was cheating on Pratyusha with former
girlfriend Saloni Sharma, who would regularly visit Pratyusha's home and
on one occasion, had also allegedly assaulted her and warned her to end
her relationship with the actor.
"The deceased opposed his meetings with Sharma. May be after finding
out that Singh was in a relationship with a former lover, the deceased
committed suicide," the prosecutor added.
It was reported that on 3am on 1 April, hours before she
passed away, Pratyusha made a phone call to a very close friend,
informing her that Singh had been assaulting her. It was further argued
that Singh's custody was required as his movements on the day of
Pratyusha's death and his use of her bank accounts had to be probed.
Falguni Brahmbhatt, who is representing Pratyusha's parents,
also brought into question Singh's conduct on discovering Pratyusha's
body claiming that he had "touched the evidence instead of dialling
100". She added that Pratyusha was a 'strong woman who would never
commit suicide over payment of loans'.
In the application opposing Singh's bail, police have said
that the post-mortem had shown old injury marks on Pratyusha's body,
which they suspect were caused by Singh.
Defence lawyer Zameere Khan countered the prosecutions
claims, questioning the delay in filing the FIR against Singh.
Pratyusha's parents, Soma and Shankar Banerjee, had earlier stated that
they did not believe Singh was in any way implicated in the death of
their daughter. However, they subsequently filed a police complaint,
accusing Singh of physically and mentally abusing her over a six-month
period. "The day after the death, the mother of the deceased made a
statement giving a clean chit to the applicant (Singh). After a few
days, she made a fresh complaint," he said.
Kamya Punjabi has spoken of Pratyusha's 'troubled relationship' with boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh
Bigg Boss
Khan
also highlighted Pratyusha's alleged financial problems as a possible
motivation for her to commit suicide. He stated that she was "burdened
with loans" and that earlier this year, when her car was due to be
seized after she defaulted on payments, "the applicant saved her and
said that he would pay the loan."
Khan added that there had been no quarrel between Singh and
Pratyusha and she had not left behind a suicide note. Prosecutor
Mudinganti added that a probe would need to be undertaken to determine
whether Singh, who was the first person to discover her body, found a
suicide note and destroyed it.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Judge Dr Khwaja
Farooq Ahmed pronounced the ruling rejecting the anticipatory bail plea.
The investigation into Pratyusha Banerjee's death continues.
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