Regional Divisional Officer To Begin Probe In VJ Chitra's Death On December 14: Report

Actor and television host VJ Chitra was found dead in a Chennai hotel room on December 9 after which her family alleged foul play, citing that her husband was physically abusive. It was also reported that the Pandian Stores actress was allegedly harassed by a politician. After the post-mortem, the preliminary autopsy report suggested that it was a case of suicide although no suicide note was found at the crime scene. She, however, had scars on her cheeks. Amidst all the developments, the Regional Divisional Officer (RDO) will begin an investigation in the case of VJ Chitra's death on December 14

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Speaking to TNM, an investigating police officer said, “We are speaking to both family members, people she was last in touch with, and her colleagues. We are yet to obtain her postmortem report. Further investigation is underway,” adding that her phone records will be checked as well. An RDO investigation takes place when a married woman, who has been married for seven years or less, dies in a suspicious manner. In this case, VJ Chitra got engaged to Hemanth in August and reportedly had a registered marriage two months ago. Her husband Hemanth was also the last person to have spoken with Chitra before her alleged suicide.

The 28-year-old actress, who was shooting at EVP film city till late night on Wednesday, had reportedly checked into the room at around 2:30 am, according to Hemanth, who is a businessman. In his earlier statement, Hemanth told the police that Chitra went for a bath soon after returning from the shoot. However, after sometime when she didn’t come out Hemanth started knocking at the door and called the hotel staff who used a duplicate key to open the door. They reportedly found the actor hanging from a ceiling fan.

VJ Chitra’s mother alleges she  was beaten to death

Chitra’s father, a retired cop, lodged a police complaint with the Nazarathpet Police station asking for a fair probe into her death. Her family members alleged foul play in the case, following which police had questioned her husband Hemanth and the hotel employees who helped him open the door of the hotel room in which she was found dead. Chitra’s mother, Vijaya Kamaraj, told reporters that she suspects the actor suffered physical violence at hands of her son-in-law Hemanth, TOI reported. “She was beaten to death…,” she said, adding, “She spoke to me on Tuesday saying she was on a show and that it would be late. In the morning her father-in-law called sharing the news. How could it be?"

Further raising accusations against Hemanth, Vijaya said, “He (Hemanth) has only killed my daughter. He should not be let free. This should not happen to anyone else. She won’t commit suicide. If someone else attempts suicide or talks about it to her, she would advise them not to. She always asked others to be bold. She won’t commit suicide. She was beaten to death. I always used to go along with her to the shooting spot. Since they registered their marriage, I had left her with him. I used to always sit and wait with her even if the shooting gets delayed."

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According to a report by NDTV, the post-mortem report suggested that the actress died by suicide and financial issues could be a reason behind taking a drastic step. Meanwhile, an officer pointed out that the mother’s allegations “appear only to be an outburst.” According to multiple reports, VJ Chitra had been dealing with depression.

Feature Image Credit: The News Minute

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