Advocate Nilesh Pawaskaras, the special public prosecutor in the Pratyusha Banerjee case, said at Rahul Raj Singh’s anticipatory bail hearing, that early leads in the investigation point to the possibility of the 24 year old actress having been murdered. According to an India Today report, the questions raised by the prosecution hint at the possibility of Pratyusha’s death not being a suicide.
Balika Vadhu actress Pratyusha was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her Mumbai apartment on April 1st. Since then, her boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh has been under close legal and media scrutiny. But this new development has added a new twist to the ongoing investigations.
The prosecution’s probe now hints at murder on the basis of some crucial questions-
Rahul could have entered the building through the adjacent window. Why did he waste a good half an hour in calling the neighbour?
During the investigations, it was also revealed that the dupatta wasn’t hanging from the fan, but was found kept on one side at the scene. Also, no such object was found that Pratyusha could have used to reach the ceiling fan in order to commit suicide.
Pratyusha’s mother Shoma Banerjee had filed a petition seeking the Crime Branch to probe into the matter. But as per the last update on the case, the Bombay High Court had refused to transfer the case to the Crime Branch, asking the Mumbai Police to report on the progress made. On the basis of a complaint filed by Pratyusha’s mother, Rahul Raj Singh was booked under IPC Sections related to abetment of suicide, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt. Rahul reportedly underwent treatment for depression at a Mumbai hospital, for nearly two weeks since April 3rd.
The special public prosecutor’s probe also suggests that Rahul knew of Pratyusha’s intent to commit suicide. It is reported that he submitted a recording of the last call made between Pratyusha Banerjee and Rahul Raj Singh in the Bombay High Court. The SSP claimed that the actress told Rahul that she was going to commit suicide. Justice Mridula Bhatkar presiding over the case decided to hear the three-minute recording of her last call with Rahul Raj Singh.
According to reports, the Balika Vadhu actress was under the influence of alcohol while committing suicide. This new development came into the picture after the Bangur Nagar police station on Friday received the forensic chemical analysis by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina.
The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to Rahul Raj Singh in the Pratyusha Banerjee case.
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