Pratyusha Banerjee death: Parents suspect foul play; Rahul Raj Singh's bail plea rejected

The bail plea of Rahul Raj Singh, who was booked on Tuesday by the police for abetting his girlfriend Pratyusha Banerjee’s suicide, has been turned down by a Mumbai court. Rahul had filed for anticipatory bail on Wednesday, after a fresh statement by Pratyusha’s mother, Soma Banerjee, led to the police booking him on charges of abetment, intention to cause hurt and intimidation, under sections 306, 323, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. [caption id=“attachment_2717374” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rahul Raj Singh with Pratyusha Banerjee[/caption] He filed his plea at the Dindoshi Sessions Court through his new counsel Ashok Sarogi, after his original lawyer, Neeraj Gupta, backed away from the case citing “humanitarian grounds”. Gupta had said that Rahul and his family had kept him in the dark about certain crucial facts of the case. Rahul has been in hospital since Sunday, 3 April. He had complained of chest pain and breathing problems after he was questioned by the police for two days after Pratyusha’s death on 1 April. Doctors who were attending him told The Times of India that the TV actor-producer showed “suicidal tendencies”. “I cannot leave him now because he can do anything. He is still on medication and becomes violent when the effect of the medicine wanes,” Dr Santosh Goel said. Rahul will only be arrested once he is discharged from the hospital. Pratyusha’s father Shankar Banerjee, however, has exhorted the police to take Rahul into custody soon. In an interview with IBN, Banerjee said that they suspected foul play in Pratyusha’s death. Their legal counsel told mediapersons that the Banerjees felt their daughter’s death was not a suicide but a murder.