03 April,2016 09:50 AM IST | | Vinod Kumar Menon
Shoma Banerjee said that after returning from Jamshedpur in December, she witnessed a drastic change in Rahul's behaviour. He would get annoyed with Pratyusha more often
Pratyusha's mother with family at the PM centre. Pic/Shadab Khan
Pratyusha's mother Shoma Banerjee (49), has said in her statement that her daughter had come to Mumbai in 2010, when she got shortlisted for the audition of Balika Vadhu.
Shoma, who lives in Jamshedpur with her husband Shankar (50) and mother-in-law Jarna (75), added that Pratyusha met Rahul in June 2015 and he'd visit them at their Kandivli home (where she and her husband visited Pratyusha).
Pratyusha's mother with family at the PM centre. Pic/Shadab Khan
He had proposed marriage to her and they were set to get married. It was after they acted together in reality TV show, Power Couple in October 2015, that they fell deeply in love. Shoma told the police that Rahul lived in a rented home in Versova but in November 2015, he moved into their Kandivli home.
"He shifted his furniture into the flat, and, as we all lived together, small arguments between the couple became routine," she said. Shoma said she would often mediate between the two and ask them to focus on their careers. Shoma added that after returning from Jamshedpur in December, she witnessed a drastic change in Rahul's behaviour. He would get annoyed with Pratyusha more often. This also affected Pratyusha's behaviour, Shoma said.
Shoma left for Jamshedpur on January 12, 2016, and in February, Pratyusha informed her over the phone that the couple had moved in together into a Goregaon home.
"Pratyusha would call me sometimes, and I realised that she was upset. On many occasions I told her to leave Mumbai and return to Jamshedpur, but she would say she was looking for work assignments. Each time I told her I was coming to Mumbai, she'd ask me to consider it later," the statement read.
Shoma said that she received a call from her brother-in-law Deepankar Banerjee at around 6.15 pm on Friday informing her that Rahul had told him of Pratyusha's suicide attempt. "I phoned Rahul and he said she was critical. A few hours later, he said she was no more. Why did our daughter commit suicide? I have no idea. Rahul should be questioned and the exact reason for her daughter acertained." The police have also recorded the statement of her father and aunt Barnali Banerjee.
