Pratyusha Banerjee Case: Actor Rahul Raj Singh Seeks Expedited Hearing of Discharge Plea

Television actor Rahul Raj Singh, booked for abetment to the suicide of actress Pratyusha Banerjee, has approached the Bombay high court seeking an expedited hearing on his discharge plea. The plea has been pending before the Dindoshi sessions court since April 2018. A detailed report regarding the same was published in the Hindustan Times.

Career in Jeopardy

In the petition filed through his lawyers Pravesh Yadav and Shreyansh Mithare, Singh contended that his acting career has been stuck due to the pendency of the case. Singh claimed that he had a good case on merit and if the discharge application is not heard and decided soon, his career will be ruined. He stated that he has lost several good projects in the past four years due to the case.

Case Background

Banerjee died by suicide in her rented apartment in Goregaon West on April 1, 2016. Singh was granted anticipatory bail by the Bombay high court on July 2, 2016. Two years after the probe, the Bangur Nagar police filed a chargesheet in the case in April 2018, after which the actor filed a plea for discharge. Singh had claimed that he and Banerjee were in a relationship, and when he tried to stop her from giving money to her parents, it caused a rift in their relationship. In his petition, he further said that he had sought adjournment only twice in the last four years, while most of the time it was adjourned on the plea of the prosecution or because the court was busy hearing other cases.

Discharge Plea

In his discharge plea, Singh claimed that the couple was planning to get married in December 2016. The published report stated that Banerjee was “deeply disturbed and frustrated” due to “constant interference of Soma (Banerjee’s mother) and her husband Shankar Banerjee.” He claimed that the deceased was disturbed due to her parents and not because of him.

Allegations Against the Parents

“The complainant (Soma) was holding three-four joint bank accounts with Pratyusha. The complainant and her husband were in the habit of blowing away their daughter’s money and leading a lavish lifestyle on her earnings,” Singh had claimed while seeking protection from arrest. Singh has claimed that he has been falsely implicated in the case and that the delay in the hearing is jeopardizing his career. The Bombay High Court has not yet decided on the plea to expedite the hearing.