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- The ‘Balika Vadhu’ actor was cremated at Oshiwara Crematorium.
- Post mortem reports suggest asphyxiation as cause of death.
- Pratyusha’s friends and some in the television industry accuse foul play.
- Pratyusha’s boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh detained as of now by Mumbai Police.
- Rahul’s family defended him against allegations that he was to blame for Pratyusha’s death.
- No suicide note has been recovered from Pratyusha’s residence.
Pratyusha Banerjee’s post mortem reports suggests “clear case of suicide”. Sources said that according to the report, “no foul play seen but not completely ruled out as well.”
A team of doctors conducted the post-mortem for over three hours and the entire procedure has been videographed. The viscera samples have been sent for forensic analysis even as the final autopsy report is awaited.
Pratyusha’s last rites were subsequently carried out at the Oshiwara Crematorium in the presence of her tearful parents, other family members, her friends, actors and co-stars from the television industry.
While Pratyusha Banerjee’s friends have been accusing her boyfriend, Rahul Raj Singh of foul play, Rahul’s mother, Shivani Singh defended her son.
How can a person who loved her so much, do something like this? It is all rubbish, whatever those people who came to the hospital have been saying about Rahul, those people, Dolly Bindra and all, I feel like... I really don’t want to say anything offensive right now. People are spreading all wrong things about that boy. He was crying so much that I had to ask his friends to take care of him.Shivani Singh, Rahul’s Mother
Rahul Raj Singh was detained by the Mumbai Police after being questioned. He claimed that he is innocent.
Rahul’s lawyer who is also Pratyusha’s friend said:
He should not be declared as a culprit at this stage.It is very pre-mature at this stage.
Contradictory Accounts
According to India Today, the security guard on duty at Pratushya’s building said that she and Rahul would quarrel often, and that they had a fight the night before her death.
However, Harshavardhan Singh, Rahul Raj’s father said that the couple were very happy and wanted to marry.
Speaking with the media outside the police station, Pratyusha’s friends suspected some ‘conspiracy’ in this incident.
Pratyusha wanted to take a break. She had no financial issues and she wasn’t even depressed. She might have been a bit worried, but not to the extent of being depressed. Any of her friends who met her on a day-to-day basis can tell you that she wasn’t suicidal. The only problem she had was in her relationship. She was going through a rough phase with her partner (Rahul). Only the police can clarify on the real nature of her death.
They also refuted earlier claims that Pratyusha did not apply sindoor on her forehead, clarifying that Pratyusha and Rahul were not married.
Cops have seized two mobile phones from her residence and a footage of an alleged altercation between Pratyusha and Rahul outside a mall has also been found. It is being said that she had withdrawn money from Rahul’s account without his knowledge, and that they had a fight over it.
Since the shocking news of her alleged suicide, her friends and other television personalities have pointed out that the 24-year-old is unlikely to have killed herself, and have indicated that some foul play might have been involved.
According to Mumbai Mirror, Rahul Raj Singh claimed to have found Pratyusha hanging from a fan with a dupatta at her residence, a 1,000-sq ft apartment, at 4 pm on Friday. She was immediately rushed to Kokilaben hospital.
Rahul was accompanied by a cook from a neighbour’s house, who helped him carry her out of the building. He informed Pratyusha’s family in Jharkhand about her demise at 5 pm.
Search is on at the flat where the suicide took place. A case has been registered, but it is too early to say the cause of the death.Vikram Deshpande, DCP, Mumbai Police
According to sources, no suicide note has been recovered from Pratyusha’s residence, where she allegedly committed suicide. Mumbai police are investigating the circumstances leading up to her death.
(With inputs from IANS.)
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