Investigation suggests ‘Balika Vadhu’ actor Pratyusha Banerjee was murdered, says public prosecutor
The Bombay High Court granted accused Rahul Raj Singh, the 24-year-old’s boyfriend, anticipatory bail.
The investigation into the death of television actor Pratyusha Banerjee has indicated that she was murdered, the public prosecutor said, according to India Today. During a hearing on Monday, the public prosecutor also claimed that Banerjee, best known for her role as Anandi on TV soap Balika Vadhu, had told boyfriend and television producer Rahul Raj Singh during her last call with him that she would take her life, ANI reported. She was earlier believed to have committed suicide.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Monday granted Singh anticipatory bail after he was booked for abetment of suicide, assault and criminal intimidation on April 5. Banerjee's parents have reportedly written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the state home department and Mumbai Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar, alleging that Singh murdered their daughter. “We have a suspicion that she has been murdered by Rahul...He has also been threatening us and the witnesses,” the letter read, according to International Business Times.
The 24-year-old's mother also demanded that the case be transferred to the Crime Branch, claiming that the Bangur Nagar police, with whom the case is registered, had not taken the family’s suspicion that Singh was involved in her death seriously.