A day after television actress Pratyusha Banerjee, of Balika Vadhu fame, allegedly committed suicide at her Goregaon residence in north Mumbai, her boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh was questioned by the police on Saturday.
According to a preliminary autopsy on Saturday, ligaturae marks were detected on Pratyusha’s neck, indicating death due to asphyxiation and hanging.
Rahul was the one who discovered Pratyusha hanging from the ceiling fan in her apartment, around 5 pm on Friday and rushed her to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, where she was declared dead.
Meanwhile, Pratyusha’s parents arrived in the city from Jamshedpur in the afternoon and claimed her body. Her last rites were performed at the Oshiwara Crematorium on Saturday night, in the presence of family members, friends, actors and co-stars from the television industry.
Police sources said the autopsy, conducted at the Siddharth Municipal Hospital at Goregaon, revealed that she had died due to asphyxia, a consequence of either hanging or strangulation.
The police also denied that there were injury marks on Pratyusha’s body as was being alleged by some celebrities in the television and film industry. However, police are not completely ruling out foul play and have sent Pratyusha’s viscera for chemical analysis.
“Provisional cause of death is ligature marks on neck and asphyxia. Final cause of death is pending and would be known after chemical analysis. Statements of parents and relatives are being recorded,” said Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikram Deshmane.
“As Rahul was very close to Pratyusha and was the one to rush her to hospital, we consider him a logical suspect till we establish the exact cause leading to her death. We have called Rahul for questioning and are recording his statement,” a senior police officer said.
Earlier in the day, television actress Rakhi Sawant gave a new twist to the ongoing speculation surrounding the reason for Pratyusha’s death by claiming that the latter had made Rahul the nominee of an lIC insurance policy worth `1 crore.
However, investigators suspect that Pratyusha committed suicide because of her rocky relationship with Rahul.
The investigators are examining Rahul and Pratyusha’s call details, the SMSes and WhatsApp messages exchanged by them. Significantly her last status message on WhatsApp read, “Mar ke bhi muh na tujh se modana” (won’t desert you even after I die).” Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons Rahul said, “I am innocent.”
Earlier in the day, he was seen crying at the mortuary while the post-mortem was being conducted.
Dismissing rumours that Pratyusha had piled up huge debts, Kamya Punjabi, one of her closest friends said, “Pratyusha had no financial problems. She was doing very well in her career”.
“It is very clear…it is not suicide…it is murder…where was he (Rahul), where did he disappear (after she was admitted to hospital), this is very clear... It’s a planned murder,” actor Ajaz Khan claimed.
Some of her close friends claimed that the couple used to fight frequently. “Suicide or not, there is a responsibility. Pratyusha’s relationship wasn’t good, she was going through a very rough time,” TV producer Vikas Gupta commented.
Veteran actor Raza Murad said, “She was not the kind of person who would end her life as she had made comebacks and hence there needs to be a thorough probe to clear the air.”
Alleging that Rahul was behind Pratyusha’s death, her family friend Surabhi Chatterjee said, “He is a blackmailer, cheater and criminal…he was also involved with another girl…we are shocked. I have known her for so long. She is not the kind of person who would commit suicide”.
“I met her last at Holi and everything thing seemed normal. Cannot say why she committed suicide,” television actor Gurmeet Chaudhary said.
Hailing from Jharkhand, Pratyusha shot to fame because of her role as the adult Anandi in Balika Vadhu between 2010 and 2013.
After quitting Balika Vadhu, Pratyusha participated in the reality show Bigg Boss 7. She was also seen in the reality dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5. She had also hosted some episodes of Savdhaan India. Her last appearance was in the television serial Sasural Simar Ka.
Earlier in January, Pratyusha had alleged that four policemen had entered her Kandivli house, where she used to stay earlier, and molested her.