Mystery girl Jazz, who was with the TV actress and her beau Rahul Raj Singh the night before she allegedly committed suicide, finally speaks out
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 20, 2016)

She prefers to call herself simply Jazz. She was with Pratyusha Banerjee and her beau Rahul Raj Singh till the morning of April 1 — hours before the Balika Vadhu actress was found dead at her Goregaon apartment.

Jazz had given her statement to the Bangur Nagar police after Pratyusha’s death, but kept herself away from media glare as she claims she did not want to be labelled as a publicity seeker. Jazz has Bollywood aspirations and features in Rajeev Chaudhari’s upcoming film, Beimaan Love starring Sunny Leone and Rajniesh Duggall. Over a month and half after Pratyusha, whom she refers to as her sister, passed away, Jazz wants to set the record straight.

Says Jazz, “Pratyusha was too strong a woman to kill herself. I was with her till the morning of that fateful day and I didn’t get any inkling of any such intention. She was cheerful and happy about her impending marriage to Rahul. I feel Pratyusha was trying to play a prank on Rahul and her prank led to the accident. She was not the type to take in any of Rahul’s highhandedness and end her life over it.”

She reveals the marks found on her neck were the result of burn injuries. “When I met Pratyusha, I asked her about the marks. She told me that it was due to spluttering of hot oil while frying fish and when the skin burns, it takes time to heal,” says Jazz as she goes on to share what unfolded in the last few hours that she spent with Pratyusha.

The night before I came to know Rahul and Pratyusha separately. I knew her as the Balika Vadhu actress while Rahul was helping me connect with people in the industry. I have done modelling, but want to be an actress. When I saw them on reality show, Power Couple, I realised they were together and supposed to wed. Rahul and I had been planning to meet for a while. I called him on March 31 and asked him where he was. Since I was keen to watch the India vs West Indies match, we went to a restobar at Link Road in Andheri where they were showing it on a big screen. I asked where Pratyusha was; he said she was at home. After the match, we went to her house in Goregaon. She was in a nightie and on seeing us, quickly changed into a top and jeans — the same clothes her body was found in the next afternoon. Rahul and I visited the Mount Mary Church in Bandra, but Pratyusha was sleepy and did not accompany us. We went back to Goregaon again and were with Pratyusha till morning. She offered me port wine while she sipped beer. We chatted, played music and danced. She was nostalgic and told me about plans to visit her parents. She asked me to sleep, but I preferred going to my house in Andheri around 7 am. On my way, I texted her to thank her for the good time. Our display pictures on WhatsApp were identical — it was a snap of Pratyusha and me together. Around 4 pm, I got a call from Rahul saying what had happened. Like most others, I felt that she was playing a prank since it was April Fool’s day. I thought, since I had was calling me. She loved Rahul like crazy. She was such a calm and strong girl. I don’t think she took her life. I feel she was trying to pull a prank on Rahul and an accident took place. She may have planned a surprise for him, as she had sindoor in her hair. Unfortunately, Rahul did not have the keys and ended up losing a lot of time in entering the house. If she wanted to end her life and was upset about something, she would have left a note. The marks on her neck was due to burn injuries sustained while frying fish.

Truth should prevail I was on my way to her funeral, but could not make it since the cops wanted to record my statement immediately. I have nothing to hide. We cannot blame Rahul alone; why are people forgetting other aspects to the case? She was keen to get married. If any woman would have had a problem with their guy, they would go to their mother’s or best friend’s house. Plus, there was an option of staying alone and block the person from her life. Everyone goes through financial issues, and problems do exist between a couple, but that does not mean you end your life. The whole case is skewed against just one party — Rahul. What about the other parties – her parents and her financial obligations towards them? I am not blaming anyone, but want truth to prevail."