Top Stories

April 2,2016. The death of TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee is suicide or homicide ? It is saying that it could be homicidal hanging and not suicide.Police are probing this case from this polint of view also.In the mean while Mumbai police on Saturday summoned television actor Rahul Raj Singh for questioning in connection with the alleged suicide of actress Pratyusha Banerjee. Singh, a former state-level cricketer who also owns a production house, was the first person to see Pratyusha’s body hanging from the ceiling fan of her flat in Goregaon West on 1st april afternoon. He immediately alerted neighbours and with their help, rushed her to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Prior to Pratyusha, several high-profile suicides of several young women rocked the entertainment industry of India, including the likes of Divya Bharti,Pravin boby,Silk Smita, Nafisa Joseph, Kuljeet Randhawa, Viveka Babajee, Jiah Khan, Shikha Joshi and Ruby Singh etc.

Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni told media that her death may have occurred around 5 p.m. on Friday, but details would be known only after the autopsy report is received.He said that Rahul singh will be taken to the flat for investigations. The police confirmed that a man identifying himself as Rahul Raj Singh (Banerjee’s boyfriend) called the control room to inform about the suicide.Police team is already searching for clues, but no suicide note has been found.Late Friday evening, the entertainment industry was stunned to learn of the sudden demise of Pratyusha, who was renowned for her role Anandi in the TV serial “Balika Vadhu” with many even dismissing it as an April Fools’ joke.

Hailing from Jharkhand, the 24-year-old was last seen in a role in another TV serial “Sasural Simar Ka” and had earlier participated in the fifth season of the reality dance show “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa”, “Bigg Boss 7” and hosted some episodes of “Savdhaan India”. Her parents reached Mumbai on Saturday morning to take charge of her body.

The glamour industry is rife with speculation about her disturbed personal life, her suspected uneasy relationship with Rahul and other aspects that may have prompted her to resort to the extreme step. According to police sources, Banerjee had called up a close friend from the television industry earlier this week and revealed that she had taken to alcohol as she was depressed. The actress was reportedly dejected with the lack of good roles.

Her last WhatsApp status message read: “mar ke bhi munh na tujhse modna”. Banerjee shot to fame in 2010, when she took over the lead role of ‘Anandi’ in Balika Vadhu. After some talk of a fallout with the producers of the show, the actor quit the role and was replaced by Toral Rasputra. Banerjee later participated in reality shows like Bigg Boss and Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, and was last seen in Power Couple with her boyfriend. The actress’s last lead role was in Hum Hain Na (Sony), in which she replaced the original female lead Kashis Vora. However, the show went off air in March 2015.

“It is unbelievable that she could commit suicide because I know her and she is a strong woman,” said actress Dolly Bindra. Activist Abha Singh linked Pratyusha’s suicide to the larger issue of the breakdown of the nuclear family and also called for the need to decriminalise article 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “It is very tragic that a young girl, a successful TV artiste who was famous as Balika Vadhu committed suicide. As on date, article 309 of the IPC is an offence which entails an imprisonment of upto one year. Keeping this case in kind, We should put pressure on Parliament to decriminalise 309 of the IPC otherwise a star who requires help does not say ‘I am suffering from depression’ because suicide is a state of mental depression. In the glamour world and otherwise, depression is on the rise because of the disengagement of the family breakdown of nuclear family,” Ms Singh said. Friends of Pratyusha are demanding for a ‘complete probe’ into the matter and stressed on the need for women to be emotionally strong. “It’s really unfortunate that a young, successful actress who was so popular had to take this step.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *