28th Dec, 2011: A division bench of the AP High Court on Wednesday reduced from 6 to 2 years the jail sentence of G Siddhartha Reddy, prime accused in the suicide case of upcoming movie actress Pratyusha.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by Siddhartha Reddy, and fined him Rs. 50,000 on charges of abetment of suicide, and one more year of imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000 for attempting suicide.

The court directed Siddhartha Reddy to surrender before the police by 15 January.

Earlier, Siddartha Reddy was sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment, by a Sessions Court. Challenging the jail sentence, Siddhartha Reddy filed a petition in the High Court.

Siddartha has been in jail for the last 115 days, following the Sessions Court's judgment.

Siddhartha and Pratyusha, who were reportedly in a romantic relationship that did not have parental approval, consumed poison and were admitted to a private hospital on 23 February 2002.

Pratyusha died the next day, while Siddharth survived.

The CBI, which investigated the case, concluded that Siddhartha had driven Pratyusha to suicide. (INN)