late actress Pratyusha’s mother Shoma Banerjee suffered a setback on Thursday, as the Bombay High Court rejected her plea for transferring the case involving the suicide of her daughter from the Bangurnagar police to the Crime Branch of the Mumbai.
Rejecting Shoma Banerjee’s plea seeking transfer of the investigations in the Pratyusha Banerjee suicide case to the crime branch of the Mumbai police on the ground that the probe being conducted by the Bangurnagar police was “misleading”, a HC division Bench of justices NH Patil and AM Badar said that the police were conducting a “fair and proper” and that the investigators were moving on a right track.
Hearing Shoma Banerjee’s plea, the two-member HC bench observed: “After perusing the records and investigation papers we are of the view that there is no need to transfer probe to any other agency. We do not feel that the police is doing any unfair or improper investigation as alleged by the petitioner (Shoma). We also do not think that the police is showing any favour to the accused (Pratyusha’s partner Rahul Raj Singh)”.
“The police are on the right track. Any investigation requires time. Especially in such cases where there is no direct evidence there is more pressure on the police. The investigation is at a sensitive stage,” the two judges said.
The judges noted that a senior police officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police concerned was supervising the probe.
While keeping Shoma’s plea pending, the HC Bench directed Bangurnagar police to file a progress report on the probe on May 4 before it.
In a plea made on behalf of Shoma seeking transfer of the case to the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police, lawyer KT Thomas said, “The probe being done by the local police is misleading and we fear that in future it would be scuttled. We are seeking for the probe to be transferred to the Crime Branch under the supervision of the Commissioner of Police”.
The HC Bench had on Wednesday wanted to know why the parents of the actress feel the police was not doing its job. “How do you (parents) know the probe is misleadingIJ let the police investigate. It’s (suicide) a recent incident,” Justice Patil had said.
On his part, Advocate Thomas said, “The FIR was registered only on April 5 and the manner in which the police has been recording the statements of the accused and witnesses we fear that the police are in collusion with the accused (Rahul Raj Singh)”.
Opposing the plea, Public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde argued that Shoma in her first statement to the police on April 2 said she did not have any suspicion on anyone. “Only on April 5, the police received a complaint from the actress’ parents against Rahul,” Shinde said.
Shinde told the court that the police had already recorded the statements of 26 witnesses including the deceased’s relatives, friends, neighbours, maids and bank managers where the deceased had accounts.
“Two mobile phones belonging to the Pratyusha and one belonging to the accused Rahul has been seized by the police and sent to the forensic lab. The post mortem report suggests ligature marks on the deceased’s neck but the exact cause of death will be revealed only after we get the viscera report,” Shinde told the court.
On April 1, “Balika Badhu” fame Pratyusha (24) was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her seventh floor flat in Harmony residency building at Goregaon in north Mumbai, She was taken by her live-in boyfriend and TV producer Rahul Raj Singh to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, where she was declared dead on admission later that evening.
Rahul, whom the investigators saw as a logical suspect in the case, had come under the intense scanner of the police right from day one for his strained love relationship with Pratyusha.
The post-mortem, conducted on Pratyusha’s body, had initially ruled out any foul play in the actress’ alleged suicide. However, on April 5, the Bangurnagar police went ahead and booked registered a case against Rahul under sections 306 (abetment to suicide), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
On their part, Pratyusha’s parents have accused Rahul of having “mentally and physically” tortured his daughter. “Pratyusha wanted to get married. But, unfortunately she met a wrong guy in Rahul. Rahul is a fraud and he has destroyed many lives. We don’t want him to harm anyone else. She was tortured mentally and physically and was very scared,” Pratiyusha’s father Shankar Banerjee said recently, adding that Rahul and his father were managing Pratyusha’s finances.
After the Bombay High Court granted interim protection from arrest till April 18 to TV producer Rahul on April 12, the mother of Pratyusha, Shoma Banerjee, wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressing her lack of confidence in the impartiality of the Bangurnagar police and demanding that the investigations be handed over the crime branch sleuths of the Mumbai police. Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil indicated on Friday last that if need be, the state government would hand over to thePratyusha Banerjee suicide case to the crime branch of the Mumbai police.