Indian actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee dies at 43 after drowning at sea, police launch probe
The actor's wife Priyanka has released a statement, calling it 'immense grief'
Popular Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee died on Sunday following an incident during a shoot. He had been filming for the television show Bholebaba Paar Karega at Talasari beach when the incident occurred. Authorities later stated that the production had not obtained prior permission for the shoot.
According to the Superintendent of Police in Balasore, the incident took place at around 5:30 pm on March 29. Banerjee was filming a scene with co-actor Sweta Mishra when both entered the water and reportedly fell into a deeper section.
Police sources, quoted by news agency ANI, said that information was initially received from Digha authorities regarding the death of a Bengali actor whose body had been taken to a local medical facility. A subsequent joint verification by police teams from Talsari and Digha indicated that the two actors had been filming in shallow water before the incident occurred. Both were taken to a hospital in Digha, where Banerjee was later declared dead, while Mishra survived.
The official police statement detailed the harrowing sequence of events:
“Further joint verification by Talsari and Digha Police revealed that the incident occurred yesterday around 5:30 PM when Rahul Banarjee and Sweta Mishra were dancing in the water at knee level for shooting of a serial. Suddenly both of them fell into a ditch and their team immediately took them to Digha Hospital. However, the male actor could not be saved.”
Officials added that the production team had neither informed local authorities nor secured the required permissions for filming at the location.
Reports indicate that Banerjee was taken to Digha State General Hospital, and a post-mortem examination is scheduled to be conducted at Kanthi hospital.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is expected to follow.
Following the news, actor Priyanka Sarkar, Banerjee’s wife, shared a statement on social media requesting privacy for the family. “This is a time of immense grief and deep despair for us. In this difficult moment, we sincerely request space and privacy,” she wrote, asking media and the public to respect their need to grieve.
