SC to hear plea against anticipatory bail to Rahul Raj Singh

The Supreme Court will hear a plea by Soma Banarjee -- mother of "Balika Vadhu" star Pratyusha Banerjee who committed suicide -- for cancellation of the anticipatory bail to Rahul Raj Singh, who has been booked for abetment of suicide.

The apex court vacation bench, comprising Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Ashok Bhushan, agreed to hear the plea by Soma Banarjee on May 30 after counsel appearing for her sought an urgent hearing of the matter.

Counsel sought not only an early hearing of the plea for cancelling the anticipatory bail granted to Rahul Raj Singh by the Bombay High Court on April 25, but also told the court that the mother wanted the accused to be charged under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder instead of Section 306 for abetment of suicide.

On a query by the bench on the status of the case, counsel told the court that investigation was still going on.

Rahul Raj Singh, who is alleged to have had a live-in relationship with Pratyusha Banerjee, has been booked under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC.

Police acted against Rahul Raj Singh following a complaint by the Pratyusha's parents.

Prosecution has alleged that on the day Pratyusha Banarjee committed suicide, Rahul Raj Singh had left her Kandivili flat in Mumbai at around 3.30 p.m. and thereafter at 3:43 p.m. there was a last call between the two, lasting for about three and a half minutes.

The Bombay High Court before granting anticipatory bail to Rahul Raj Singh had heard the conversation between the two in their last call.

The public prosecutor had told the court that Pratyusha had allegedly hinted about her intention to commit suicide in the last conversation with Rahul Raj Singh.

Pratyusha died on April 1.

(Source: IANS)