Not recovered from my daughter's death, says mother of late Telugu actress Prathyusha

Hyderabad, Feb 17 (PTI) The mother of late Telugu actress Prathyusha said she respects the Supreme Court verdict on Tuesday upholding the two-year jail term of a man for abetting her daughter's suicide and directing him to surrender, though she felt that he should have been punished with life imprisonment.

Sarojini Devi, mother of Prathyusha, whose death in 2002 was a sensation, said she and her son have not recovered from her daughter's demise despite the passage of time.

"My husband had died long ago. I was taking care of the family. She (Prathyusha) used to give me courage. But, she left us. We are not able to recover from her death," a sobbing Devi told news channels here.

She said her daughter was busy in Telugu films and also acted with leading stars in Tamil like Vijayakanth and Prabhu.

Devi alleged that evidence in her daughter's death was manipulated.

She added that she would decide her next course of action in the case after discussing it with her lawyer.

Ruling out strangulation and rape, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the two-year jail term of Siddhartha Reddy challenging his conviction for abetting the suicide of Pratyusha in 2002, and directed him to surrender within four weeks.

Pratyusha died in Hyderabad on February 24, 2002.

The gist of the case against Gudipalli Siddhartha Reddy, according to the remand report, is that he and Pratyusha were in love for six years.

While the relationship was acceptable to Pratyusha's mother, Reddy's mother did not agree to the alliance on account of which both of them decided to commit suicide.

On February 23, 2002, both of them went in a car, purchased a pesticide bottle, mixed it in a soft drink and consumed it. However, wisdom prevailed over them and they decided that they should not die.

They drove to Care Hospital in Hyderabad. In spite of the medical care, Pratyusha died while Reddy survived.

A bench comprising justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan also dismissed the plea filed by Devi, who alleged foul play in the death. PTI SJR GDK SJR KH