Charged with abetment of suicide, Pratyusha Banerjee's boyfriend Rahul Raj moves court for anticipatory bail

Mumbai: Actor-producer Rahul Raj Singh, against whom a case has been lodged for abetment of his girlfriend and TV star Pratyusha Banerjee’s suicide, on Wednesday filed an anticipatory bail application at the Dindoshi sessions court. It will be considered on Thursday. After Rahul’s new lawyer Ashok Sarogi moved the application, the matter was adjourned for the day and and has been posted for hearing on Thursday. The development came hours after Rahul’s previous lawyer Neeraj Gupta withrew from the case, saying he was “kept in the dark” about the details pertaining to the case. [caption id=“attachment_2715702” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rahul Raj Singh with Pratyusha Banerjee. Image from IBNlive[/caption] “I withdrew from the case on humanitarian grounds. I felt that I shouldn’t be fighting the case, and hence left it be so that injustice is not done to anyone,” Gupta told PTI on Wednesday. “A client should pass on all the information, right or wrong, good or bad, to the lawyer, but I was kept in the dark and got all the details (pertaining to the case) from outside (media),” Gupta claimed. Asked if he changed his mind after the FIR was filed against Rahul, he said, “The FIR has nothing to do with the decision. A lawyer is always prepared for such things.” Rahul, currently in hospital, was on Tuesday booked for the abetment of suicide after police registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by the actress’s mother Soma at Bangurnagar Police Station. A case under IPC sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 504, 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC has been registered against Rahul. Police has, however, declined to divulge details regarding the investigation that led to registration of the FIR. They suspect that Rahul was in relationship with another woman about which the deceased was depressed. Meanwhile, doctors attending on Rahul, who has been in hospital since Sunday morning, said that “he still has suicidal tendencies.” “I cannot leave him now because he can do anything. He is still on medication and becomes violent when effect of medicine wanes,” Dr Santosh Goel, said, adding that he is under depression and at times calls out to Pratyusha. On 1 April, the 24-year-old actress, who shot to fame for her role of Anandi in hit TV series Balika Vadhu, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself inside her flat at Goregaon area of western suburbs. Police are also trying to ascertain whether Pratyusha was in financial trouble or had any dispute with Rahul. Some reports suggested that the actress, who hailed from Jamshedpur, was depressed over not getting roles in TV serials. On Sunday, Rahul was admitted in ICU ward of a hospital in Kandivali after he complained of chest pain and breathlessness, said police who were to question him for the second day. As part of their probe, police spoke to several people, including the common friends of Singh and Banerjee, their close relatives, friends, neighbours and domestic help. Police are awaiting the viscera report of the actress. Pratyusha’s parents had alleged that their daughter took the extreme step as she was subjected to torture by Rahul. “He (Rahul) should not get out. My daughter should get justice and I would like to appeal to the entire nation to help me in seeking justice for my daughter. He tortured my daughter a lot and finished her,” Pratyusha’s mother Soma told reporters on Tuesday evening. Pratyusha’s father Shankar Banerjee, said, “We could not come out in the open earlier as Pratyusha’s last rites were not performed. We lodged an FIR against Rahul and told the police about her suffering.” They alleged Rahul used to scare their daughter and alienated her from her friends. Besides family and friends, a host of television personalities like Kamya Punjabi, Vikas Gupta, Sara Khan, Shashank Vyas, Jay Bhanusali, Deepshikha Nagpal, Anuj Sachdeva, Sangram Singh and Rohit Verma attended a prayer meet held in memory of Pratyusha.