Siddhartha Reddy surrenders in actress Pratyusha suicide case

Gudipalli Siddhartha Reddy, convicted for abetment of suicide in the actress Pratyusha case, surrendered before a Nampally court following Supreme Court directions. The apex court upheld the High Court order that had reduced his sentence to two years

Hyderabad: Gudipalli Siddhartha Reddy, who was convicted for abetment of suicide in the South Indian actress Pratyusha suicide case, surrendered before a local court at Nampally on Monday on the directions of the Supreme Court.

In February 2002, actress Pratyusha was found dead while Siddhartha escaped death due to timely medication. Siddhartha maintained that he and Pratyusha had planned to end their lives after their families rejected their plans of marriage. Pratyusha was an upcoming actress and had performed in many Telugu and Tamil movies.

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The police, basing on a complaint, had registered a case of abetment of suicide against Siddhartha, and the local court had convicted and sentenced him to a five-year jail term. However, Siddhartha challenged the lower court judgment and approached the High Court, which reduced the punishment to two years. Not satisfied with the order, Siddhartha again approached the Supreme Court, which after hearing the case and counters filed by the mother of Pratyusha upheld the judgment of the High Court and in February directed Siddhartha to surrender within four weeks.

On Monday, Siddhartha surrendered before the court and was sent to jail.