Pratyusha died of asphyxiation, says autopsy report

Strangulation marks were detected on the neck of popular TV actor Pratyusha Banerjee, indicating death due to asphyxiation and hanging, according to a preliminary autopsy on Saturday evening.

The Balika Vadhu actress was found hanging from a fan in her suburban Goregaon residence on Friday evening by her boyfriend and television actor Rahul Raj Singh. She was taken to hospital but succumbed there later.

A team of doctors conducted the post-mortem for over three hours and the entire procedure has been videographed. The viscera samples have been sent for forensic analysis even as the final autopsy report is expected later.

Though officials declined to comment, a tattoo bearing the name ‘Rahul’ - purportedly referring to her boyfriend - was found on her upper back.

Pratyusha’s last rites were subsequently carried out at the Oshiwara Crematorium in the presence of her tearful parents, other family members, her friends, actors and co-stars from the television industry.

Rahul was questioned by Mumbai Police on Saturday in an attempt to unravel the probable reasons behind her shocking suicide that left the entertainment industry stunned.

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.

Several television industry personalities have claimed on social media networks that Pratyusha was a strong-willed personality and they could not digest she could end her life in this manner.

Prior to Pratyusha, several high-profile suicides of several young women rocked the entertainment capital of India, including models-actresses like Nafisa Joseph, Kuljeet Randhawa, Viveka Babajee, Jiah Khan, Shikha Joshi and Ruby Singh, in the past decade or so.