A Telugu film comedian K. Vijay Sai was found dead in his rented apartment in Yousufguda on Monday morning. In a selfie video recorded before the suicide, the actor blamed his wife for the extreme action.
The actor allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in the bedroom of the flat, where he was staying for the past several years, police said. According to his 71-year-old father K.V. Subba Rao, the incident occurred at around 10.30 a.m. and the reason behind the actor taking the extreme step was alleged harassment by his wife, N. Vanitha Reddy, who is also a television artiste.
“They got married in 2006 and for the last two years, the couple were living separately following a dispute,” he said. Mr Rao alleged that the woman had recently filed a complaint against his son alleging domestic violence and demanded ₹ 3 crore.
“Earlier, she demanded ₹ 20 lakh, but on November 4, she filed a domestic violence case in Rajendra Nagar court and started demanding ₹ 3 crore. She had also taken away our car from the apartment parking on Saturday evening,” he said.
Mr. Rao said that he didn’t see Sai’s acting career as a factor in the suicide. “He is having substantial amount of work and his married life is the main reason that prompted him to kill himself,” he said, with tears rolling in his eyes.
Meanwhile, the Jubilee Hills police said that they are examining the video clip purportedly recorded by the deceased before his death.
“Based on a complaint lodged by Sai’s father, we have invoked a case of ‘abetment of suicide’ under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code against Ms Vanitha,” said K. Purna Chander, inspector, Jubilee Hills.
In the video, the actor appealed to his father to take care of his seven-year-old daughter, who lives with her mother and blames his wife.
The 42-year-old actor acted in more than 60 Telugu films and made his debut in the film industry in 2003 with Ammayilu Abbayilu, a film directed by Ravi Babu.
In the meantime, Vanitha, who rushed to Osmania General Hospital, where the body of Sai was shifted, broke down on seeing his mortal remains in the mortuary. Talking to reporters outside the morgue, she denied the allegations levelled against her. Instead, Vanitha said she suffered a lot while living with Sai. “I tolerated the harassment meted out by him. We were living separately for the last two years and I am unable to make out what prompted him to commit suicide,” she remarked.
