Popular Tamil television and soap opera star V.J.Chitra was found dead in her Chennai hotel room on Wednesday. Police are currently investigating, with preliminary reports suggesting suicide.
Chitra, 29, was last seen booking into the hotel room early on Wednesday morning after which she called her fiancé Hemanth. When Chitra did not respond to further calls, Hemanth called the hotel manager who discovered her body and reported it to the Nazarathpettai Police at around 3:30 AM according to police sources quoted in the Indian Express.
The news has been received with shock on social media. Chitra was a well-known personality who rose to fame as the star of 'Pandian Stores', where she played the role of Mullai. She also hosted shows on prominent channels such as Jaya TV, Makkal TV and Zee Tamizh.
Singer Hariharan was among those to tweet his condolences.
"Too shocked to hear that she is no more. May God give her peace in this! What's [sic] Happening in 2020," the tweet reads.