Actress Prathyusha was a rising star heroine in the early 2000s, having acted in as many as 22 movies in just two years. She was busy in both Telugu and Tamil. Her sudden death under mysterious circumstances in February 2002 shook the film industry.
It was widely reported as a suicide by consuming poison, which was allegedly attempted alongside her close friend and rumored partner, Siddharth Reddy. However, Prathyusha's family alleged that Siddharth was responsible for her death, accusing him of harassment and even murder. Siddharth maintained that their action was a joint suicide pact due to relationship issues. Prathyusha died but Siddharth didn't.
What did the CBI say?
Following public outrage, the case was handed over to the CBI, which found that Prathyusha was not murdered. Dropping murder charges, the CBI, however, declared that Siddharth had abetted her to commit suicide. The report was tabled in 2004. Siddharth was sentenced to five years in jail but he came out on bail. In 2012, a High Court reduced the term of imprisonment from five years to two years.
What has the victim's mother said?
Since then, Prathyusha's mother, Sarojini Devi, has spoken about her daughter's death in interviews. Even after the CBI investigation, she believes that Siddharth murdered her daughter. "Siddharth developed an inferiority complex because Prathyusha's popularity was on the rise. Also, his parents were not willing to allow him to marry my daughter because she was an actress," the mother told Suman TV last year.
