Pratyusha Banerjee's death was a planned murder, suspect friends

TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee, who rose to fame with her portrayal of Anandi in 'Balika Vadhu,' committed suicide by hanging at her home in Mumbai yesterday.

She was declared dead when she was brought into the Kokilaben Hospital in Andheri by her former boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh.

Though the reason for this drastic step is not yet known, there is a buzz that the 24-year-old actress was suffering from heartache over a failed love affair with Rahul, who recently participated with her in the reality show 'Power Couple.'

Meanwhile, insiders revealed that Pratyusha's last Whatsapp status that read "Mar Ke Bhi Munh Na Tujse Modna" was probably a hint about her impending suicide.

It is also being said that Rahul looked calm and unaffected by the situation during his stay at the hospital and left the place in hurry on pretext that he was booking flight tickets for Pratyusha's parents.

Talking over the same, the actress' close pal Dolly Bindra said that she was strong and cannot commit suicide, while her co-actor Ajaz Khan said, "I don't think its suicide. I think its planned murder."

Also, some reports suggest that the police are also suspecting some foul play in this tragic incident as Pratyusha's body apparently had a faint rope mark on her neck. Her left cheek was bruised and she had blood coming from her mouth.

But neither her eyes nor her tongue had popped out, which is normally the case when someone hangs themselves. These are the factors that are currently being investigated by the authorities.

Her pals and co-actors, including Siddharth Shukla, Jay Bhanushali, Gurmeet Choudhary and Karan Veer Bohra, were seen outside the hospital moaning the tragic incident.

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor took to his Twitter handle and wrote, "What a shame! Such a lovely person should suicide! Who knows the turmoil within her. RIP."

While showing his condolences, filmmaker Karan Johar tweeted, "This is just so sad...and a wake up calm to families and friends who don't consider depression a medical condition...RIP #PratyushaBanerjee."

Hailing from Jharkhand, Pratyusha got to fame with her role in ' Balika Vadhu.' She was later seen in the reality dance show 'Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 5,' 'Bigg Boss 7' and hosted some episodes of 'Savdhan India.'

Pratyusha was earlier dating a businessman named Makrand Malhotra, with whom she had a bitter break-up and against whom she had lodged a complaint for abusive behaviour.