Actor held for drunk driving

Rahul Raj Singh allegedly misbehaved with cops after being arrested

Actor-producer Rahul Raj Singh, accused of abetting television actress Pratyusha Banerjee’s suicide in April this year, has once again landed in a legal soup. The traffic police arrested the actor for drunk driving at Gajdharband in suburban Santacruz late on Sunday night. Singh was not carrying his driving licence and reportedly got into a verbal duel with the police after being caught.

According to the Santacruz police, they caught Singh during a routine nakabandi on Sunday night. “We intercepted Singh’s car and found him to be drunk. We then detained him and took his blood samples for a test. Later, we registered his offence and set him free in lieu of a bond of '2,500,” said an officer from Santacruz police station.

The officer added that a friend, identified as Saloni Vijay Sharma, was accompanying Singh. After being nabbed, the duo was brought to Santacruz police station, where they allegedly created a ruckus. “Singh and the woman started arguing with the police inspector on night duty. The woman created a scene and threatened the officers against taking action against Singh. Claiming to know senior officials in the police department, she threatened to complain against them if action was taken against Singh. Our policemen’s efforts to pacify them failed as she continued arguing,” said a police officer who witnessed the incident. He added that Singh confessed to driving without a licence.

Pratyusha Banerjee, well known for her character Anandi in television series Balika Vadhu, was found dead at her residence in Kandivali on April 1 this year. While Singh was chargesheeted for abetting Banerjee’s suicide, her parents accused Sharma of beating her up at her Goregaon apartment earlier this year.

In their police complaint, Banerjee’s parents repeatedly stressed that Singh had an affair with Sharma, which is why their daughter used to stay upset. This also used to lead to frequent fights between Banerjee and Singh. This newspaper had in the past reported that Sharma claimed to have lent money to Singh and that she often visited their house demanding the same back. The investigators have also included Sharma’s statement in the chargesheet filed against Singh.